Topic:
Country: United States of America
Delegate Name: Natalie Mouw
UN Women
Access to education for women and girls
United States of America
Natalie Mouw
Forest Hills Eastern
Access to education for women across the globe must be improved. 129 million girls are out of school, spanning across age groups of primary, secondary, and post-secondary schooling. Historically, girls and young women have been discriminated against in education, and this discrimination pervades numerous societies to this day. Stereotypes considering girls unfit for education remain in many communities, and even in areas where girls are permitted to go to school, they often report feeling unsafe. Moreover, educational curriculum is typically male-focused, with such patriarchal standards resulting in employment and pay gaps for women entering the workforce. Additionally, in areas of conflict or war, girls are more likely to be the ones who miss out on an opportunity for education and are expected to stay home and care for younger siblings and the household. The education of girls is the strongest investment for the world. It enables women to contribute to their communities through economic opportunities and earned wages, and it decreases unwanted pregnancies, maternal deaths, and child marriages. The benefits of girls’ education range from healthier families to reinforced economies.
Aware of the importance of equal educational opportunities for women, the United States plans to utilize its experience with increasing women’s rights in its own borders to assist the efforts of the United Nations across developing countries. In 1972, the United States passed Title IX of the Education Amendments act to prevent discrimination in education on the basis of sex. In 1974, the Women’s Educational Equity Act was passed. Women’s education has improved in the United States substantially – where women have come from complete exclusion from college education to now surpassing men in undergraduate enrollment. Equality in education has been an important step towards overall equality for women and men in the United States.
The United States plans to work with other countries to remove systemic barriers holding women back in education and subsequently in the workforce. Largely, this issue finds its prevalence in developing countries. The US is ready to work with other countries to improve education for women and girls across the globe and increase the accessibility of schooling for girls in developing countries. Firstly, the US recommends that each country pass laws modeled after the US’s Title IX. Following the creation of these laws, administrative enforcement agencies should be developed. It would be their responsibility to enforce these laws – sanctioning schools that discriminate against women. Lastly, the US is willing to work with the UN to gather funding for all-girl schools in developing countries and provide scholarships for more girls to have access to primary, secondary, and post-secondary schooling.
