Background

Women and girls are the most impoverished, discriminated-against group in the world. Consider the following:

• Of the world's 1 billion poorest people, 60 percent are women and girls.
• Women work two-thirds of the world’s working hours, yet earn only 10 percent of the income.
• Women produce half the world’s food, yet own only 1 percent of its land.
• Women make up two-thirds of the estimated 776 million adults worldwide who cannot read or write; and girls make up 55 percent of the 75 million children not attending school.

In most societies, women face discrimination, exploitation and exclusion that limit their access to resources and assets. This disempowerment is a universal factor in extreme poverty. Rather than working with women as victims of poverty, more and more non-governmental organizations are working to empower marginalized women to challenge and change the contexts in which they live.

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