Teenage Girls Are the Answer to Breaking the Cycle of Poverty – Here’s Why
By 2040, the teenage girls of today will form a significant proportion of the workforce – leaders, innovators, teachers – if they can realize their potential and are provided an environment in which to prosper. Many will be mothers and caregivers for a new generation. But too many will be left behind, unless we create and sustain opportunities for them to shape their own future.
Imagine a teenage girl standing at the fork of a road. One branch will make it more likely that she can fulfill her potential and realize her aspirations. This means school and higher education, gainful employment, the choice to marry a partner who will love and respect her, healthy children should she choose to have them, the ability to invest resources for her own children’s well-being and, ultimately, a secure old age.
The other branch, however, makes it so much harder and multiplies the risks she faces: chronic absenteeism, dropping out of school, early and unwanted pregnancies, violence and abuse, informal and erratic employment, a hostile home environment and possible displacement, and an insecure old age.
If every adolescent girl receives a quality secondary education, there will be fewer child deaths, far less malnutrition, and far less teen pregnancy and child marriage. Our workforce will be more productive, our economy will prosper, our communities will be stronger and more caring
But for teenage girls to be the formidable force for good we need them to be, we need to tackle the many obstacles they face on many fronts.
Some of the major challenges adolescent girls face, according to a 2021 CDC survey, are record high levels of violence, sadness, and suicide risk. The study found:
Violence – Sexual violence against girls has worsened over the past decade, with nearly one in five girls reporting experiencing sexual violence in 2021. Black students were more likely to report skipping school due to violence concerns, while white students were more likely to report experiencing sexual violence.
Sadness – In 2021, 57% of US teen girls reported feeling persistently sad or hopeless, which is double the rate of boys and a 60% increase from the previous decade.
Mental health – All teens reported increasing mental health challenges, but girls fared worse than boys across nearly all measures. LGBQ+ teens also face extremely high levels of violence and mental health challenges. Social isolation, worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, may be a contributing factor to the increase in mental health concerns. A sense of connectedness is critical for teen development, and many kids were socially isolated for an extended period during the pandemic.
The evidence is clear. Interventions that improve the health, safety, education and the lives of teen girls and young women will also significantly improve all our lives, especially those of our children and grandchildren — female and male alike.
During adolescence, teen girls often develop a lack of self-esteem, don’t perform as well academically, become less physically active, and neglect to nurture.
Less than two cents of every development dollar goes to programs specifically for adolescent girls, but they are the key to breaking the cycle of poverty.
We can help change that.
Contact the John F. Kennedy Memorial Foundation to learn how you can help expand programs aimed at vulnerable, adolescent girls in the Coachella Valley. Or, you can click below and make a quick and easy contribution to one of our programs that are making tangible differences in the lives who need it most.