a message from care's president
Friends,
CARE today joins organizations and governments around the world in recognizing International Women's Day. CARE embraces the idea of setting aside this day to acknowledge the contributions and sacrifices women make each day.
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Bell in Sri Lanka / Photo by Harsha de Silva © CARE. |
International Women's Day is a time to mark achievements and advances. It also is a day to measure the distance still to be traveled toward the day when women enjoy full and equal access to the inherent rights of all human beings, including equity in terms of economic opportunity, leadership and decision-making.
Over the years, CARE has seen great strides made by women around the world. Communities that popular wisdom said would never change have embraced new roles for women. We have helped women invest in themselves, their families and their neighborhoods to create lasting change.
Yet, we know today women throughout the developing world continue to face obstacles that erode hope and deny a life of dignity and security. The vast majority of people living in extreme poverty are women. They have limited access to the tools that would help them overcome poverty: education, credit, health care. Poor women and children are among the first to suffer from violent conflict, yet they are almost entirely excluded from discussions about how to prevent or resolve disputes.
Discrimination and gender bias have no place in CARE's vision of the world. Not can they have any place within CARE itself. Understanding the obstacles to gender equity helps CARE set its goals for the future. Our vision extends beyond a world free of poverty. It includes hope and tolerance, dignity and security for all people.
On this International Women's Day, CARE looks back with pride at what we have helped women achieve in the past year, and looks forward with determination to helping more women reach their goals in the future.
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Peter D. Bell
President
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