Gender Equality

Room to Read’s Girls’ Education Program centered on a multi-year life skills curriculum, supports adolescent girls as they improve learning and life outcomes, helping them graduate with the resilience and the ability to lead, collaborate, think critically and make decisions that they need to address pressing challenges.

Our research-based life skills curriculum follows girls through secondary school, helping them build  competency in areas such resilience, leadership, collaboration, critical thinking and decision making. Through classes, workshops and extracurricular activities, girls learn how to apply key skills in their daily lives and become better equipped to handle challenges — from gender discrimination and food scarcity to finding time to study.

Download Your Own Life Skills Lesson

Room to Read’s Girls’ Education Program matches cohorts of girls with a local mentor from their community to advocate on their behalf and helps them nurture and grow the necessary skills to exercise agency and make their own informed life choices.

These mentors, called social mobilizers, monitor risk factors associated with dropping out of school and work one-on-one with girls and their families to provide additional guidance to navigate the challenges of adolescence.

Check Out: 5 Ways to Be a Great Mentor

The World Bank lists educating girls as a “strategic development investment” as evidence that girls’ education brings a wide range of benefits not only for the girls themselves but also for their children, communities and society. 

Room to Read engages with families and communities by hosting workshops, events, and other activities to raise awareness about social norms, expectations and challenges that can significantly affect a girl’s ability to stay in school, the importance of education and the resources that exist to support girls’ learning.

This local presence enables Room to Read to better meet the needs of students and quickly respond during crises that create barriers to learning. Our program alumnae also participate, serving as valuable role models for younger girls, and often contributing as mentors and guest speakers. 

Learn how to engage your community to support Room to Read's programs

Potential is equally distributed, but opportunity is not. For some families, the cost of a school uniform or safe transportation is prohibitive to sending their daughters to school.  

We provide need-based material support for school costs such as tuition fees, school supplies, uniforms and exam preparation services so parents don’t have to make the choice between putting food on the table and investing in education.

Support a year of secondary school for just $1/day