Image via Walt Stoneburner

It’s true education changes the world. And educating girls in particular, in a world where many don’t learn to read and a girl’s education isn’t considered a necessity, that’s even more true.

Today is the inaugural International Day of the Girl, and I’m reminded, as I read the scary statistics, that it really does all begin with education:

• By 2015, females will make up 64% of the world’s (adult) population who cannot read. (source)
• Only 30% of girls in the world are enrolled in secondary school. In America, the dropout rate is worse for boys, but one in four girls does not finish high school, and the dropout rate is even higher for minorities. (source)
• An extra year of primary school boosts girls’ eventual wages by 10 to 20%. An extra year of secondary school adds 15 to 25%. (source)
• The positive impact of girls’ education has been shown to transcend generations, resulting in better health outcomes among women, their children, and eventually, their grandchildren. (source)

The stats tell a story, to be sure, but real people tell the story even better. Like the story of Malala Yousafzai, a 14-year-old Pakistani girl, who just this week was shot simply because she believes girls have the right to an education.

I work at Scholastic not just because I love to read, but because I believe passionately in the right to read, in the right to education. I believe in that for all children, everywhere — including, especially, girls. Because when girls are educated, societies are empowered.

There’s a great conversation happening on Twitter at #DayoftheGirl if you want to learn more. Or, find out more from the UN’s site.