Investing in the Future of Young Women
The quality of girls’ future will be determined by the quality of opportunities they have now to learn and develop relevant skills – skills that enable them to access, perform, and create dignified and fulfilling work.
Since its inception, the Mastercard Foundation has worked to advance access to education for young people – particularly young women. Importantly, the Mastercard Foundation is invested not just in delivering access to schooling but access to learning that ultimately leads to earning.
This means ensuring that girls and young women develop the kind of skills that are relevant to the future of work—21st century skills, technical and vocational skills, entrepreneurship skills, digital skills – as well as the confidence to use their voices and shape their communities and futures.
One of the most significant investments we can make is towards ensuring that girls and young women learn work-relevant skills at the secondary education level – since we know that secondary school serves as the platform from which most young people transition into the workforce. Only ~8% of young people receive higher education training.
However, we also must ensure that more young women are able to transition into tertiary education – including technical and vocational training—and the Mastercard Foundation is committed to doing so.
The Mastercard Foundation also recognizes that there are systemic barriers—codified in cultural practices, legal frameworks & policies and mindsets—that inhibit girls’ access to relevant learning and dignified economic opportunities. The Mastercard Foundation works with its partners to address these barriers in different ways. Importantly, many of the girls and young women reached through the Mastercard Foundation’s programs become catalysts and advocates for change in their communities, creating opportunities for future generations of girls.
Representation matters. So, investing in girls’ future is also linked to investing in women’s present economic opportunities—including unlocking the barriers that keep women from accessing the capital they need to start or scale businesses and create opportunities for other young women.
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Learn More About How We are Investing in Young Women and Their Future
Watch: She Is, A Documentary
Young women in marginalized communities in Kenya face immense challenges that prevent them from accessing economic opportunities and having the lives they desire. Watch the inspiring stories of young women, who were able to change their stories from ‘at-risk’ girls, to educated, empowered, and employed young women.
Why Supporting Women and Girls in STEM is Crucial for Socio-Economic Transformation in East Africa
We are working to deepen our engagement with African organizations for a transformative impact on young women by changing systems and structures around job creation, employment, and higher education fields such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
Afro Fem and Mastercard Foundation Inspire African Women to Code
Afro Fem Coders in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation launched a hackathon to support young women in gaining business skills amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The program aims to create a platform for African women to learn computer programming in a safe and encouraging environment.
Op-Ed: We Must Urgently Curb Teenage Pregnancies, Uphold Girls’ Rights
Teenage pregnancy must be addressed urgently and with sustained focus. Everybody has a role to play. Read an op-ed on the alarming trend that threatens to roll back the gains in empowering girls and women over the past few decades.
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