The Girl Effect: Making a Difference One Girl at a Time (VIDEO)

This powerful video uses simple language to showcase the ability of adolescent girls in developing countries to bring unprecedented social and economic change to their families, communities and countries.

The Girl Effect movement was started by the NIKE Foundation and Peter and Jennifer Buffet (Warren’s son and daughter-in-law). Here’s how they explain the issues and solution:

“In impoverished communities, lack of resources drives girls out of school and into early marriage, childbirth, and HIV infection at rates dramatically higher than boys. The results are irreversible for girls, and devastating to communities caught in intergenerational cycles of poverty. Yet when girls gain a different path – supported, educated and empowered – everyone benefits.”

“Investing in the girl effect offers the potential for tremendous economic impact, which leads to more stability, less poverty and more opportunity for economic growth,” Peter writes. “Just one component of the girl effect – the increase in family income associated with an additional year of a girl’s education – nets more than a 40-fold return according to conservative calculations. The intergenerational benefits, however, go far beyond this to impact a range of issues including declining fertility rates and improved health and nutrition for the next generation. That’s a return on investment we can’t ignore.”


Julie H.
Julie Hoffman3 years ago

These poor young girls are forced into this. We need to help them.

Jewels S.
Jewels S.5 years ago

It is a start...

Susan S.
Susan S.5 years ago

My issues with this are that it perpetuates the values of meat consumption, dairy production and links women with HIV but not reproductive freedom. So it doesn't question the fact that relying on cattle for our food has the biggest environmental impact in creating greenhouse gases of any food source for instance. It doesn't go far enough in creating solutions, and while it causes a person to think superficially about solutions, it doesn't address the key underlying issues. For instance, poverty can be alleviated by micro-loans, and systemic discrimination can be softened by giving women a voice (council aspect). But it doesn't go into issues like why some people have access to medicine and some don't, why some have access to vaccines and some don't, and why some have basic human rights and freedoms and others don't. It doesn't get to the heart of distributive justice issues. So while it is helpful in promoting the concept of 'every starfish makes a difference...' (the anecdote of someone standing at the seashore rescuing starfish...someone asked what they were doing and their actions make a difference to this starfish) it really masks a lot of complex issues. But at least it is a start. It is catchy.

Ritva J.
Ritva J.5 years ago

Thanks for posting this.

Betti S.
Betti S.5 years ago

To actually DO this, go to Camfed:

For Christmas one year my daughter gave me the gift of an education for Jane in Tanzania, a very bright young woman who was recommended by the headmistress of her school for a Camfed scholarship. This means more to me than any material thing my daughter could possibly have given me (at my age, my place is TOO cluttered, and I am trying to get rid of stuff rather than aquire). I highly recommend Camfed.

Eli Is Here
.5 years ago

Thanks for posting this Cris.

Lika S.
Lika S.5 years ago

Well Alleluia. Guess who just caught on?

Please excuse my sense of sarcasm... Now, if NIKE can ensure that they can go to these villages and actually EMPLOY these girls so they can practice what they preach, instead of sweat shops in Malaysia or El Salvador.

Jackie D.
Jackie D.5 years ago

Is this the same Nike - the billion dollar shoe company who prefers to subcontract production of their shoes with foreign business in Asia where workers are paid a fraction of the American wage? If so they could start paying their workers a livable wage (as opposed to a subsistence wage) so that their employees can afford to send their kids to school.

Donna M.
Donna M.5 years ago

GIRL POWER!!!! I totally support this initiative. If we are going to change the world we need to empower girl's from birth on.
Education is a key piece of the puzzle. What are we waiting for.

Samantha Y.
Samantha Y.5 years ago

Women's rights affect us all so helping to improve the lives of girls is a good step in the right direction.Women should control when they get married and when they have kids, helping to reduce the amount of population the world has thus decreasing the amount of mouths to feed and the less poverty the world will have. I believe everything is connected in someway or another so if we can change the lives of girls we can change lives for everyone.