But more than 67 million children around the world don't go to school and the majority of them are girls. This is inexcusable! We need to act now to challenge the status quo, get girls in school, and empower communities with the resources to fight poverty.

Please contact your representative to help the millions of poor girls around the world access and complete basic education by supporting the Education for All Act (HR 2705).

An investment in girls'education is one of the single best investments that can be made to help communities rise out of poverty. Research shows that every additional year a girl spends in school raises her income by 10 to 20 percent. And educated girl is more likely to raise a smaller family, have healthier children, delay marriage, participate in political processes and send her own children to school. Together, these factors lead to more productive and stable communities around the world.

Thank you for taking action on this issue.

Source of Information: CARE Action Network

GENDER EQUALITY AROUND THE WORLD

The World Economic Forum released its 5th annual report on world gender inequality, rating 134 countries on a percentage-based system that calculates how much they have closed their gender gaps in education, politics, health and economic opportunity. The U.S. gained 12 spots, to #19, indicating increased parity between the sexes, while France fell from #18 to #46, largely because several women left Nicolas Sarkozy's government in the past 12 months. At #94, Japan, where women earn an estimated 53% of what men do, has one of the lowest scores for a high-income nation.

Below are the five best countries:

85%—Iceland
84%—Norway
83%—Finland
80%—Sweden
78%—New Zealand

and the five worst countries:

57%—Ivory Coast
57%—Mali
55%—Pakistan
53%—Chad
46%—Yemen