Save the Children’s State of the World’s Mothers 2005 examines the ways investing in girls’ education can benefit present and future generations of children, and society as a whole. It points to effective, affordable programs and policies that are working, even in the world’s poorest countries.

The report finds that no matter what the economic or cultural challenges, there is a strategy that can work to get girls into school and help them stay there. It shows how schooling girls benefits individuals and has a dramatic ripple effect that can change the course of a nation. When they grow up, educated girls are more likely postpone marriage and childbirth, have fewer children, have the resources to ensure their children’s health and education, and contribute to the improvement of society through their involvement in civic groups and political decision-making.