When girls stay in school, whole societies flourish. UNESCO notes that nations’ commitments to girls’ education have “generated huge dividends” in recent decades. Better‐educated girls become healthier mothers and more productive workers. In fact, analyses suggest that barriers to girls’ schooling cost countries trillions – one World Bank study estimates $15–30 trillion in lost lifetime productivity due to curtailed schooling for women. By contrast, the payoff from investing in girls’ education is enormous.
A recent report found that every $1 invested in girls’ education returns about $2.80 in extra GDP, enough to raise developing-country GDP by roughly 10% over the next decade if all girls finished secondary school. Rwanda’s experience illustrates the potential: by enshrining gender equity after the 1994 genocide, Rwanda today has women filling 52% of its secondary school seats and 54% of the workforce – and its per capita income more than doubled between 2000 and 2015. In short, educators and economists alike agree that investing in girls is one of the highest-return strategies in development.
Social and health benefits of investing in girls
The ripple effects of a girl in school extend to families and communities. Better-educated women tend to
- marry later,
- have fewer children, and
- adopt healthier practices.
UNICEF emphasises that educated girls are “far less likely to marry young and more likely to lead healthy, productive lives.” For example, children of literate mothers survive at much higher rates: a child born to a mother who can read is about 50% more likely to reach age five than a child whose mother is illiterate.
Education also boosts preventive care: in Indonesia, just 19% of children whose mothers had no schooling were fully immunised, versus 68% of children whose mothers had secondary education. Small gains add up – one estimate is that one extra year of schooling for every 1,000 women prevents two maternal deaths. Educated mothers understand nutrition, immunisation and hygiene, so their children are less likely to be malnourished or get common diseases. In short, every year a girl spends learning tends to translate into a year of better health and opportunity for her whole family.
The impacts go beyond health. When girls learn, they also earn more and help economies grow. Educated women are more likely to enter the formal labour force and secure higher-paying jobs. UNICEF notes that as girls’ education rises, “girls…earn higher incomes” and are better able to support their families. At the macro level, countries with greater gender equality in education enjoy higher incomes.
In fact, an IMF analysis found that in every region of the world, the country with the least gender inequality has a higher per-capita income than the country with the greatest inequality. In practical terms, this means closing the gender gap in schooling is correlated with more tax revenues, stronger domestic markets and faster poverty reduction. The Brookings Institution puts it plainly: girls’ education “improves women’s wages and families’ nutrition, reduces the incidence of child marriage…empowers women and contributes to economic growth”. These are not separate issues – they all stem from giving girls the same chances to learn.
Success stories in the Global South
Many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) offer powerful examples. Bangladesh is often cited as a girls’ education success story. In 1970, girls made up only about 17% of secondary students; by 2000, they were more than half of the class. Concerted policies – from recruiting more female teachers to creating stipend programmes – helped achieve near-parity in primary and secondary enrolment. Those gains translated into societal changes: rising female education in Bangladesh contributed to sharp declines in child marriage and fertility, and laid the groundwork for faster economic growth.
Likewise, Rwanda’s post-conflict government explicitly invested in girls and women. Today Rwanda leads the world in female parliamentarians and almost closed its gender school gap; its economy has been one of sub-Saharan Africa’s fastest-growing. These countries illustrate how investing in girls’ schooling fuels a virtuous cycle of development.
Yet pockets of exclusion remain and remind us of the work ahead. UNESCO warns of “stubborn pockets of exclusion”: in some African nations (and in Afghanistan), well over half of school-aged girls still have no schooling. In rural, poor communities, entrenched norms and lack of facilities keep girls at home. Even in countries with overall gender parity, boys often dominate higher levels and STEM fields.
UNESCO notes that in 87% of education systems, eighth-grade boys are more likely than girls to consider science or mathematics careers. These gaps mean millions of girls’ potential remain untapped. Closing them would unleash more of the development dividend – more skilled workers, more innovators, and healthier families.
Investing in girls: Smile Foundation’s work
What does this evidence mean for India? India has made progress (gender parity in primary schooling is within reach), but stark inequalities persist. As Smile Foundation’s leaders note, “the burden of poverty weighs down heavier on girls”. While girls from well-off families average nine years of schooling, girls from the poorest 20% often get no schooling at all. Civil society has stepped in to bridge these gaps. Smile Foundation, for example, serves 1.5 million children annually through over 450 projects in 27 states. Many of our flagship programmes specifically target girls in education, recognising that investing in girls yields wide benefits for Indian communities.
She Can Fly: Keeping girls in schools
Smile’s She Can Fly campaign exemplifies this approach. Described as “a flagship initiative…to enable, equip and empower girl children with quality education, proper nutrition, good health, adequate skills, and above all…self-confidence”, She Can Fly tackles the reasons girls drop out. It provides scholarships and stipends to cover school fees and supplies, offers mentoring and laptop grants, and organizes life-skills workshops to build confidence.
By meeting girls’ needs holistically, the programme helps talented students from remote or poor families “live their lives to their fullest potential”. To date, hundreds of girls have benefited each year – an investment that promises returns in the form of future teachers, engineers, and entrepreneurs who might otherwise have been lost to child marriage or labour.
Scholarships and STEM for the next generation
For girls who make it through school, Smile ensures the support continues. Our Scholarship Programme provides financial aid to girls from disadvantaged communities so they can pursue higher education. These scholarships “ensure uninterrupted education” and are paired with life-skills training in critical thinking, communication and leadership. Recipients like Sanjana (an engineering aspirant) often remark that without this backing they could not afford college. In this way, Smile helps turn school leavers into college graduates and future role models in their villages.
Beyond funding, Smile also invests in making education relevant and exciting. Recognising the global skills gap, Smile has launched STEM projects for rural girls. In one such partnership with CooperSurgical, we opened a new science lab at a government girls’ school (KGBV) in Uttar Pradesh, serving some 400 students. In this lab, girls do hands-on experiments, build models and participate in science fairs. The initiative is “improving their understanding of science and math” and developing “problem-solving and critical thinking skills”. These experiences spark curiosity and show girls they can excel in fields traditionally seen as out-of-reach.
Breaking taboos: Menstrual health through Swabhiman
No discussion of girls’ education is complete without menstrual hygiene. Periods are a leading reason adolescent girls skip or drop out of school. Smile’s Swabhiman women’s empowerment programme directly tackles this taboo. Operating since 2012, Swabhiman trains local women as peer educators and “change agents” on menstrual health. They run community meetings and distribute sanitary napkins, so girls can attend school without fear or shame. This effort addresses a harsh reality: a UN survey found that about one-third of schoolgirls drop out when they hit puberty due to lack of sanitation and stigma. By demystifying menstruation and providing supplies, Swabhiman keeps girls in class – and shows families that educating daughters matters at every stage of life.
Unleashing the development dividend
The evidence is overwhelming: educating girls is not just a moral imperative, it is smart economics. In practical terms, every girl in school means a healthier workforce, higher productivity and stronger communities. In India and around the world, the returns on this investment are literally in the billions. Supporting programmes like She Can Fly, STEM labs, scholarships and health campaigns gives us a development multiplier. When a girl flies, she lifts an entire economy – and that is the true development dividend.
Sources: Authoritative studies and reports by UNESCO, the World Bank, IMF, UNICEF, and leading think tanks. Case examples and data are drawn from these and Smile Foundation programme descriptions, reflecting the real-world impact of educating girls.
