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 Wednesday, March 02, 2011
Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro today underscored the importance of education in raising the status of women in society and called for greater investment in measures to ensure gender equality, deploring the fact that two-thirds of illiterate adults across the world are female.
“Investing in women and girls is a force multiplier,” Ms. Migiro told the opening of the two-week session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women at UN Headquarters. “Not only is education a key driver of economic growth, it is also a catalyst for empowering women,” she added.

Ms. Migiro pointed out that global commitments to achieving universal primary education and gender parity, at all levels of education, have had a beneficial impact on girls’ school enrolment and retention rates in many countries, but the quality of education has not kept pace, particularly in the developing world.

“Many children leave school without basic literacy and numeracy skills. Girls and women are under-represented in science and technology, education and employment. They are simply not getting the knowledge and skills they need for today’s competitive and changing job market.

“Your discussions at this session can help connect the dots among those key issues affecting women’s prospects and well-being,” said Ms. Migiro.

She said the launch of the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) will galvanize worldwide efforts to realize the rights and opportunities of women and girls.

“UN Women will build on the strong foundation of international norms and policies developed by the United Nations over decades. It will provide a strong and unified voice. It will work throughout the United Nations system to strengthen coherence and to ensure accountability,” said Ms. Migiro.

(Source: UN News Centre)

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