[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 33 (Tuesday, March 9, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1303-S1304]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, yesterday marked the 100th anniversary of 
International Women's Day--an occasion that celebrates the many 
contributions women have made to our communities, societies, and 
nations. Women have made great progress, but the sad reality is that 
women around the world are not participating equally in business or 
politics, are not paid the equivalent of their male counterparts, and 
are more likely to be denied educational opportunities, property 
ownership, and other basic rights.
  The inequities facing women today represent some of the world's 
greatest global-development challenges. Investing in women is vital to 
the world's growth potential. I have introduced two bills this Congress 
that take important steps towards equity and human rights for women 
worldwide.
  In July 2009, I introduced the Global Resources and Opportunities for 
Women to Thrive--GROWTH--Act of 2009. The GROWTH Act is designed to 
reduce these economic inequities in developing countries. By providing 
women with the economic resources to start and grow their own 
businesses, the GROWTH Act would create broad educational, legal, and 
community-based programs that would promote female property ownership 
and empower women in their communities.
  Today, women account for 64 percent of adults who lack basic literacy 
skills, 70 percent of the hungry, and 56 percent of those subject to 
forced labor.
  Women typically invest 90 percent of their income back into their 
household compared to only 30 to 40 percent by men. Developing programs 
that allow women to increase their education and thrive professionally 
is good for the family, as well as the woman.
  In May 2009, I also introduced the International Protecting Girls by 
Preventing Child Marriage Act. This bill sets out to strategically 
eliminate the harmful practice of child marriage overseas. Child 
marriage poses a direct threat to investments in education for girls 
overseas, HIV/AIDS prevention, poverty reduction, maternal and child 
safety, and human rights.
  Too often the potential of children and developing women is crushed 
by early marriage, sometimes occurring when girls are as young as 7 
years of age. Child marriage is a direct challenge to guaranteeing 
equality and basic human rights to children and developing women around 
the globe.
  International Women's Day calls on us to acknowledge the achievements 
of women, but it is also a reminder of the sometimes immovable barriers 
women in many countries still face. I commend my colleague Senator 
Shaheen for submitting S. Res. 433 recognizing International Women's 
Day. This resolution is a testament to the Senate's commitment to the 
advancement of women worldwide.
  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I rise today to express my support for the 
International Women's Day.
  Rooted in the long-term struggle for equality, International Women's 
Day has been observed since the beginning of the last century, at a 
time when American women were fighting for basic rights, such as voting 
or fair employment. We should commemorate the determined and courageous 
women who have played an extraordinary role in the history of women's 
rights.
  While women have made hard fought and important strides towards 
equality since then, they continue to face significant obstacles in all 
aspects of their lives, particularly those living in poverty. Over a 
billion people worldwide live on a dollar a day or less--and women are 
most likely to be among them. This is a problem that affects all of 
humanity--when women are poor, entire communities suffer because they 
are not free to earn an income, feed their families, or protect 
themselves and their children from violence. And their efforts are 
critical to rebuilding countries in peril like Afghanistan and Haiti. 
Until women around the world have improved access to economic, 
political and social opportunities, the great challenges we face today 
will go unresolved.
  Indeed, investing in women and girls is one of the most efficient 
uses of our foreign assistance dollars and best ways to make the world 
more peaceful

[[Page S1304]]

and prosperous. Decades of research and experience prove that women are 
more likely to invest their income in food, clean water, education, and 
health care for their children, creating a positive cycle of change 
that lifts entire families, communities and nations out of poverty. 
Simply put, when women succeed, we all do.
  If we ignore these realities, the results will undoubtedly be 
negative. The statistics are staggering. A World Bank report confirms 
that societies that discriminate on the basis of gender pay the cost of 
greater poverty, slower economic growth, weaker governance, and a lower 
living standard of their people.
  In sub-Saharan Africa, for example, less than 2 out of 10 women have 
a job with a regular income and lower economic risk. GNP per capita is 
far lower in countries where females are significantly less well 
educated than men. Also in sub-Saharan Africa, inequality between men 
and women in education and employment suppressed annual per capita 
growth between 1960 and 1992 by 0.8 percentage points per year. This is 
significant, as a boost of 0.8 percentage points per year would have 
doubled economic growth over that time period.
  But when women's voices are fully included in societies and 
economies, the reverse is true. According to UNICEF, when women hold 
decisionmaking power, ``they see to it that their children eat well, 
receive adequate medical care and finish school. Women who have access 
to meaningful, income-producing work are more likely to increase their 
families' standards of living, leading children out of poverty.''
  The World Bank states that, at the macroeconomic level, there is 
evidence that removing gender disparities spurs growth. According to 
one estimate, growth rates in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and the 
Middle East and North Africa would have been 30-45 percent higher had 
these regions closed the gender gaps during the school years as fast as 
East Asia did between 1960 and 1992.
  The economic growth that can result from gender equality is 
exemplified by Eugenia Akuete. Eugenia grew up in Ghana surrounded by 
poverty and started making products from shea butter because she was 
looking for a way to earn money to help supplement her family's income. 
At first the market was difficult--she was only producing a small 
amount, she lacked necessary business and technical training and it was 
hard to get the shea butter soaps and lotions to U.S. customers. She 
eventually received training that focused on women's entrepreneurship.
  Now she is earning a steady income and teaching other women to do the 
same by producing and selling shea butter. She has 10 employees, most 
of whom are women, who she pays above than the government minimum and 
going market rate. She also now employs 300 women in northern Ghana who 
gather nuts for the factory to convert into shea butter. Stressing that 
they are all connected to each other, she explained that it is in her 
best interest that everyone produce the best quality possible--so that 
all communities benefit.
  When asked what she would like to tell Americans, Eugenia said that 
what women like her need most are tools so that they can help each 
other and themselves.''Yes, we need help,'' she said, ``[but] we are 
also responsible to other people so that we'll have a multiplying 
effect. I don't believe in freebies: part of the package of 
responsibility is that if you are helped you in turn have the 
responsibility to help someone else.''
  As we in Congress and in the administration are moving forward with 
the vital process to revamp our foreign assistance, we have an 
opportunity to make women's empowerment a central focus of U.S. foreign 
policy. With these unprecedented plans as a backdrop, we should 
remember Eugenia when we are thinking of ways to maximize our foreign 
aid dollars. Because of the obvious multiplier effect, one of the best 
ways to do that is to ensure that women are empowered. Women's success 
always benefits more than one person.
  While we should reflect on progress that women have made in pushing 
for greater rights and equal opportunities, we must be conscious we 
still have much to do in working towards greater global gender 
equality. As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I am 
committed to continuing to work with my colleagues to put women at the 
center of U.S. foreign assistance and to marshal all the resources 
necessary to achieve this goal.

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