The first wave of work in girls’ education has helped ensure more girls are going to school now than ever in human history. Yet, we now know many are leaving school before or without attaining critical knowledge and skills, and their schools all too often reinforce gender stereotypes for both boys and girls, putting the ripple effect at risk. That’s the work of girls’ education now. It’s time to move from asking ‘Why serve girls’ to asking ‘How?’

Here's what we do know: transformation comes when girls complete secondary education, with the full skills and mindsets they need to thrive. We want to help make that happen.

We see our role in quickening the pace of change in girls’ education as two-fold.

First, we catalyze work that promises to fast-track improved outcomes for girls. Our chosen accelerators address pivotal moments in a girl’s life: early childhood and adolescence. In early childhood, we focus on how support early in life lays the groundwork for later learning. In adolescence, we concentrate on the wide array of skills and mindsets that help girls succeed academically. For both of these critical windows of girls’ development, we build knowledge, advance practice and drive system change.

Second, we support a robust ecosystem in girls’ education, among implementers, advocates, researchers and champions, so that effective ideas can take root and thrive. Here, we seek to propel others to do more and better work for girls, while supporting a cadre of leaders across lower-income countries. Our work aims to not only increase funding for quality education but ensure that funding goes toward solutions that evidence tells us works for girls.

1. Be accountable to girls. We focus on girls because of the disadvantages they face -- and the enormous change they can make.
2. Focus on academic success. We’ll support non-academic interventions if they’re strongly tied to academic progress.
3. Target pre-tertiary education in lower-income countries where the need is greatest and our dollars go farthest.
4. Enable systemic change by improving school systems or connecting experimentation outside formal schools with system improvement.
5. Learn by doing and assess rigorously. We take an adaptive and evolutionary approach, informed by data and evidence.
6. Empower local institutions, communities and leaders. They have the most intimate knowledge and influence -- and ultimately drive development.