We have no problem giving props where props are deserved and in this case we need to commend Fast Company for publishing a recent article entitled, “Meet The League Of Extraordinary Women: 60 Influencers Who Are Changing The World,” which sheds light on the people (well, women mainly) and organizations making a difference for women around the world.
The article links to a comprehensive “directory” of sorts comprised of the world’s most powerful women who are choosing to give back to advance the lives of women and girls around the world. Fast Company’s Senior Writer, Ellen McGirt wrote the piece, which is an in-depth compilation of stories about female change-makers like Maria Eitel, CEO of the Nike Foundation, Laura Pincus Hartman, Founder of Zynga.org, Eve Ensler, creator of The Vagina Monologues, and Pat Mitchell, CEO of the Paley Center for Media.
In her article, McGirt illustrates how many of these “well off Western women” have joined forces with other powerful, more visible women like Hillary Clinton, Alicia Keys and Tory Burch to help women in developing nations. And together they are changing the world.
Many of the issues that “The League” is tackling revolve around providing women with trade skills and microloans: “If you train a woman in a particular skill and give her a microloan, or a way to build up some savings, she is more likely than a man to use her income to educate and care for her family and invest in the community. In rural Africa and India, one year of secondary schooling can raise a girl’s future wages by 10% to 20%. In Kenya alone, the cost of early pregnancies and limited schooling of girls is an estimated $3.4 billion in gross income–equivalent to that country’s entire construction sector.”
There’s no question that these “60 Female Influencers” understand how important education is in winning the battle for equal rights for women in the developing world. Scroll through the “directory” of profiles and you’ll find that most of the organizations started by women in “The League” have education somewhere in their mission statement. As the only semi-full proof plan to escaping a life of poverty and strife, it’s the first step towards empowerment and the last before leaving a life of submission, abuse and physical hardship.
Read more here about how the League of Extraordinary Women is changing the world.
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The photo is an edited screenshot taken from the Fast Company article mentioned in this post
