On International Women’s Day, UNESCO launched the call for nominations for the 2022 UNESCO Prize for Girls’ and Women’s Education. The Prize awards US$ 50,000 annually to two laureates making outstanding efforts in favour of girls’ and women’s education.
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and in a context where girls and women have been disproportionately impacted by lengthy school closures, the Prize is more significant in 2022 than ever before. Ensuring that girls and women have access to inclusive, quality education and learning opportunities must be a top priority.
Before the pandemic hit, UNESCO estimated that some countries lose more than US $1 billion a year by failing to educate girls to the same level of boys.
Today, millions of girls and young women are at risk of never returning to classrooms despite schools reopening. This is in addition to the estimated 127 million girls who were already out of school the year before COVID-19 struck.
Highlighting innovations that help us foster an equal future is key to responding to global challenges facing girls’ and women’s education.
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