International Women in Literacy advanced through new U.S. Government Council

On March 11th, 2009 President Obama signed an Executive Order creating the White House Council on Women and Girls. The mission of the Council will be to provide a coordinated federal response to the challenges confronted by women and girls and to ensure that all Cabinet and Cabinet-level agencies consider how their policies and programs impact women and families. In particular, the Council will work to enhance, support and coordinate the efforts of existing programs for women and girls. The Council will also work as a resource for each agency and the White House so that there is a comprehensive approach to the federal government's policy on women and girls.

Although, creation of this council might seem long overdue, it comes as joyful news to organizations such as ProLiteracy, who have worked for years to uplift the lives of women around the world through our women-centered literacy programs.

Women, who count for half of the world population, also comprise 70 percent of the population living on less than $1 a day. Since one out of every three women worldwide are unable to read and write, there is a pressing need for national governments to address women’s issues. Despite grass root level efforts, the lack of attention in both national and international policy-making processes has hindered the progress of women’s issues. We applaud the new administration for inaugurating the Council on Women and Girls and hope it will encourage other governments to place women’s issues at the center-stage in domestic policy-making processes. We also hope that the Council places rightful attention to literacy of women in advancing women’s economic and social rights.