ExxonMobil gives grants for girls and women education

ExxonMobil has announced an award of two additional community investment grants under its new "Educating Women and Girls Initiative."
The initiative was launched last June as an extension of the company's longstanding support for education and the multi-year community investment initiative targets developing countries where the company operates.

ExxonMobil plans to spend up to $ 3 mm in the initiatives first year and to date, the company has granted a total of $ 1.6 mm for nine projects in countries where the company has significant operations.
"Research consistently shows that educating women and girls yields a higher rate of return than any other community investment available in the developing world. By targeting our contributions at specific identified barriers to development, we believe we can help drive real change and support the achievement of international development goals," said Rex Tillerson, president, ExxonMobil.

Educated women, Tillerson said are healthier and is less likely to die in childbirth than women with little or no schooling. The children of the educated mothers are more likely to survive to go to school and to be healthier because of better nutrition and immunization rates.
The company agreed that educating women and girls also has been shown to help lower infant and child mortality rates as well as prevent the diseases associated with poor sanitation and the spread of HIV/AIDS.

"Improvements in education and increased opportunities for women and girls serve as a foundation for societal progress, development and economic growth.”
“By funding programmes and projects that promote the education of women and girls, we have targeted one of the most powerful development tools of all," said Susan Carter, manager, global community relations of the company.