This week’s SoroptiVoice blog comes from SIA Executive Director Liz Lucas. Having been in post for almost 12 months, she takes the opportunity to reflect on what the SI ‘Educate to Lead’ programme of work means for Soroptimist International of the Americas, and how Soroptimists are helping thousands of women and girls throughout the world to live their dreams!
Soroptimist International improves the lives of women
and girls in local communities and throughout the world so they can control
their own destinies and live their dreams. We believe the best way to create
this change is to provide them with access to the education or training they
need to achieve economic independence. Through “Educate to Lead,” Soroptimist transforms
the lives of women and girls through access to education and leadership skills.
“Educate to Lead” is based upon the E3 Soroptimist model: Educate,
Empower and Enable.
Educate women and girls. The
benefits of education have been well-established. Academic research has shown access to quality
education results in the social and economic advancement of women and girls,
their families and their communities. The benefits are particularly advantageous for women who already
comprise a disadvantaged social group simply by virtue of their gender.
Equally crucial are the consequences of
lacking an education. Uneducated women are left without options: without opportunities for equitable
employment, political participation, financial independence, and informed
family planning. As a result, uneducated women are far more likely to be
trapped in lives defined by poverty and exploitation, and are significantly
less likely to raise educated, healthy children.
Education is essential not only for the
development of the individual woman, but also for the survival of future
generations and of the global community. Universal education – formal or
informal – must not be seen merely as a benefit, but rather as an absolute
necessity.
By educating women and girls,
Soroptimist will empower them
with confidence and choice, giving them the tools necessary to achieve
their fullest potential.
After educating and empowering, we can go
beyond the individual woman or girl and work within the wider community to enable opportunities for women and girls to use
their skills and confidence as leaders and role models.
Put it all together and “Educate to Lead” focuses on educating
women and girls and preparing them for leadership roles within their families,
their communities, their businesses, their countries, and the world. It is a movement that will transform the
lives and status of women and girls worldwide, opening doors for them to become
leaders in many different ways.
For the past 40 years, Soroptimist has
offered its Women’s Opportunity
Award to educate, empower and enable women. The Award helps women, largely
single mothers, return to school to earn a degree or learn new skills to
enhance their employment prospects, thus improving their economic independence.
Cash grants are awarded to assist women
in obtaining the skills-training and education
that empowers them to improve their
employment status and standard of living for themselves and their family. In
addition to helping women to obtain
higher paying jobs, this award-winning program bolsters their self-confidence, enabling them to envision a new life
for themselves and their families.
More than
$1.5 million is granted annually through SIA’s Women’s Opportunity Awards.
Recipients of the Awards may use the money to offset any costs associated with
their efforts to attain higher education, such as books, childcare and
transportation. Many have overcome enormous obstacles in their quest to live
their dreams, including poverty, domestic violence, and substance abuse.
Since 1972,
SIA has dispursed about $25 million to help tens of thousands of women achieve
their dreams of a better life for themselves and their families. Our results
are promising – 80% of award recipients tell us they have had an improved
standard of living for themselves and their dependents. These results are a celebration of what
Soroptimists can and do collectively achieve!