Support the Global Resources and Opportunities for Women to Thrive (GROWTH) Act

Urge the United States House of Representatives, the United States Senate, and President Obama to pass the Global Resources and Opportunities for Women to Thrive (GROWTH) Act(H.R.5191, S. 1425).

The GROWTH Act, or the Global Resources and Opportunities for Women to Thrive Act, is an innovative piece of legislation that would make U.S. development assistance more effective in addressing poverty by promoting economic opportunities for women and their families worldwide.  It would also give millions of women worldwide the economic tools they need to lift themselves and their families out of poverty. Tools like: 

-Micro-finance, Small Business Development and Training: Help women living in poverty start and grow their own businesses.

-Property Rights: Help increase women's land and property rights so that they can produce more food, get credit, and earn income.

-Improved Wages and Working Conditions: Help improve women's wages and working conditions in poor countries by emphasizing training and education.

-Access to Global Trade: Ensure that women can access and participate in markets, so that increased trade reaches poor families.

-Strengthening Local Women's Organizations: Encourage U.S. agencies to recognize women and to collaborate with local women's organizations that know their communities best and have a proven track record of success.

Decades of research and experience have shown that when women who are living in poverty have any extra income, they reinvest it in their children, creating a positive cycle of growth for the family. Greater economic opportunity for a woman means her daughters are more likely to go to school, her babies are more likely to survive infancy, and her family is more likely to eat nutritious meals. Women also tend to reinvest extra income into better housing, improving the quality of life for the entire family. Women with extra income are also less vulnerable to trafficking and HIV/AIDS, and have more options in the face of violence or abuse. Yet, the current global financial crisis has made it increasingly difficult for women to obtain decent jobs, education, housing, healthcare, and food for their families.

The GROWTH Act would reshape U.S. assistance and trade policy to:

Promote women's ability to start and grow businesses (micro to SME) Enhance women's land and property rights Increase women's access to higher quality employment Ensure that the benefits of global trade reach poor women It would also create incentives at U SAID to actively encourage U.S. economic opportunity projects in developing countries that incorporate women's needs.

Investing in women is the surest way to end global poverty. In many poor countries, women produce the majority of the food supply and are more likely to spend their income on food, education and healthcare for their children. However, they face unequal barriers to lifting their families out of poverty: women often work longer hours in the lowest-paid sectors, earn less stable incomes, and receive less training and have fewer economic opportunities than men.  By making sure assistance reaches women as well as men, the GROWTH Act would ensure that international development is truly reaching women.

Please call and/or write your U.S. Representatives and Senators, and President Obama and tell them to pass GROWTH Act.

Also please sign the online petition below.

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