One of the most outspoken supporters that I know of women and girls is actually a man. As cofounder of the ONE Campaign, my friend Bono spends a lot of time speaking out against global poverty (贫困). Together, we're working to get out a simple, powerful message: poverty is sexist.
Women and girls are more likely to be in poverty, less likely to get an education and more likely to suffer bad health. And when they are born into poverty, it is much more difficult for them to lift themselves and their families out of it.
Why? One reason is that breaking out of poverty takes timeand that is a resource women around the world are short on. On average, women spend about twice as much time as men in doing the unpaid work that makes life possible for everyone, like cooking, washing, cleaning, shopping and caring. In developing countries, the gap is even much bigger. As a result, women have no time to finish their education, learn new skills, open a business, develop personal relationships or even go to the doctor. They dream of creating a better future for their children, but they can not spare the hours to put those dreams that they have into action.
The fact that the potential of so many women and girls is going unrealized is a sad thingbut it is also an opportunity for us. We need to recognize, reduce and redistribute the burden of work that is holding them back. Because if women have time to invest (投资) in themselves and their ideas, they could transform the world.
