ABAM – As Beautiful As Me!

BOLD, BULLET POINT THE MAIN STATEMENTS

For every girl that receives an education, there is increased opportunity for her to advance out of poverty and further advance her family out of poverty.

[THE FOLLOWING IN DROP DOWN MENU] According to a report produced by the World Bank, in 2012 there were 31 million girls out of school, nearly 4 million “missing” women annually (meaning the number of women in low- and middle-income countries who die relative to their counterparts in high-income countries) and, average wage gaps of 20 percent, along with gaps in labor force participation. The systematic exclusion of girls and women from school and the labor force translates into a less educated workforce, inefficient allocation of labor, lost productivity, and consequently diminished progress in economic development.

While these disparities are profoundly pronounced beyond the boarders of the US, the importance of education for American girls is just as important.

[THE FOLLOWING IN DROP DOWN MENU] According to the US. Department of Education in 2009-10, females represented 57.4% of students receiving a bachelor’s degree and 62.6% of students receiving a master’s degree, which means girls are better positioned for increased socioeconomic status. Nonetheless, if a young woman gives birth during adolescence, she is less likely to attain these same advances. According to the National Conference of State Legislation, only 40 percent of teen mothers finish high school and less than 2 percent finish college by age 30. They also found that children of teen mothers perform worse on many measures of school readiness, 50 percent more likely to repeat a grade, and more likely, than children born to older mothers, to drop out of high school.

Racial disparities compound these issues in a way that result in deleterious life outcomes for certain groups over others.

[THE FOLLOWING IN DROP DOWN MENU] For example, black girls are more likely to give birth during adolescence than their white counterparts. Girls that grow up in homes without biological fathers are more likely to begin having sex early, which can lead to having children earlier. In the US, black girls are more likely to grow up in a home without a father than their white counterparts. Black girls that gives birth during adolescence have a higher likelihood of receiving child welfare benefits and living in poverty, often continuing the cycle of poverty they experienced.

While these outcomes are grim, there is literature that speaks to the power of education.

[THE FOLLOWING IN DROP DOWN MENU] Even if a daughter grows up in a home without a father, placing her at greater risk of early sexual activity, when she lives with a single-mother that has a college degree or higher, she is less likely to have a child during adolescence.  Here we see the buffering effect of a mother’s education, which further buttresses the importance of a teen mother’s education. If a teen mother is presented with viable opportunities that support and encourage the achievement a high-school diploma, and further have access to academic support for obtaining a college education, she may potentially position herself and her child for a brighter future.