Advancement of Education
Education is the foundation of opportunity for everyone. It delivers the tools to create your own future. It supports independence, freedom and confidence.
That’s why every woman and girl, both nationally and globally, deserves the right to be able to access education.
Sadly too many girls still face numerous barriers to gaining a full education. Too many obstacles exist for girls in many communities and parts of the world to gain the meaningful education they deserve and should expect.
We work to break down these barriers with the aim of creating gender parity for girls as this is what will empower women to overcome hurdles and stereotypes, pursue their dreams, and shape their own futures.
We do this by:
Programme Action
Through our club projects, we support the lifelong learning of women and girls through a variety of training, assistance, fundraising and partnership activities.
Club members with specific skill sets offer training to local groups in financial acumen, IT, sewing and crafting among many other activities. Club members attend local schools, prisons and other institutions to help with reading for women and girls at all ages. We facilitate book swaps and story competitions. See https://www.soroptimistinternational.org/sigbi/ for more examples of our work in 2025.
In 2025 several of the winners of the Best Practice awards were Education focussed:
See all 2025 Programme Award Winners in our publication: https://flipbookpdf.net/web/site/bedcb1a8a984b8ae6d120c0d5a235b904d2645f1202511.pdf.html
SI Esperance, “Lighting the Path to Literacy”
SI Esperance partnered with the (Trinidad and Tobago) National Library and Information System Authority and past pupils to establish a library in a rural school by providing shelving and furniture, organising a book drive, and cataloguing and shelving books.
We organise school STEM competitions to encourage girls to find their vocations in this field. For example from the 2025 Best Practice Awards
SI Perth, “STEM Rising Star Award”
SI Perth have been working with the Perth based campus of the University of Highlands and Islands to make an award of a cup and a small cash prize to a female student studying in the sciences, engineering or mathematics to encourage and recognise excellence of young women studying in STEM subjects.
Running and facilitating public speaking competitions are a very successful part of our programme work. Many Clubs run public speaking competitions.
SI Esperance won the 2025 Delegates Choice Award with their project “Think before you Click”.
One hundred Form 1 students were educated, empowered and enabled to prevent and protect themselves against gender-based violence, with a focus on cybercrime. The topics included Rights of the Girl Child, Grooming, Online Gaming, Sextortion and Cyberbullying.
This project enabled early intervention and helps to prevent and protect girls against digital gender-based violence, and the Club aims to train girls to be peer advocates for online safety within their school.
Read more about our programme action here: https://sigbi.org/2025/day-of-education-blog/
Diamond Education Grant
A separate charity originally started in 1972 by SIGBI, this fund provides scholarships to assist women in advancing their education and careers. In 2024-2025 the charity has given grants of £22,000 and has enabled 22 women aged from 27 years to 61 years to undertake further education, pursue new career paths or gain relevant qualifications in their chosen professions. Read our blog here: https://thehub.sigbi.org/blog/deg_trustees_CqCjR
Where We Stand : Soroptimist International
Read our full position paper and recommendations from Soroptimist International
Universal access to safe, inclusive and high-quality education and training for women and girls is a fundamental human right and is crucial to ensure sustainable development.
Global cooperation is required to address the challenges associated with access to education and training. Unified actions from States, the private sector, NGOs and civil society are necessary to promote gender equality in education and remove systemic barriers facing women and girls.
As the saying goes, ‘If you educate a man, you educate an individual. But if you educate a woman, you educate a nation.’
It’s only when women and girls have the same opportunities to learn as everyone else that we benefit from a more inclusive and just society for all.
Follow our work here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/soroptimist-sigbi/.