P&G and UNESCO partner to offer refugee girls education programme

24-Jan-2017 - Last updated on 24-Jan-2017 at 12:05 GMT

Procter & Gamble, consumer goods multinational, has teamed up with UNESCO to reach and support young Syrian and Jordanian women who are struggling to complete basic education or pursue training as a result of their refugee status.

The company and the United Nations body launched the commitment, to ‘change the world of refugee girls through education’, during the World Economic Forum’s recent annual meeting in Davos.

They brought together a panel to discuss the issue and raise awareness of the extreme vulnerability of refugee girls, and how to secure solutions to their future through education and skills development.

Gülser Corat, Director of the Division for Gender Equality at UNESCO, highlighted that 69 million girls remain out of school worldwide and said this figure risks rising further because of the refugee crisis. “This is not a problem we cannot solve. We need commitment, leadership and investment,” she stressed.

Reality of the situation

According to information on the UNESCO website, UNHCR figures show that as of June 2016, 655,399 Syrian refugees, over half of whom are females, have been registered in Jordan. Of these, 79% are urban (non-camp dwelling) refugees.

More than half of these are under the age of 25, girls and young women: 86% of non-camp refugees live below Jordan’s poverty line of USD 96 per capita per month.

Project aims

P&G and UNESCO’s project is based in Jordan, and according to the two partners, is designed to develop the life, business and vocational skills of Jordanian women, while also encouraging them to share their experiences.

It was put in place in partnership with the Jordan River Foundation, which is an initiative of Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah, and it reportedly offers traditional and innovative job search techniques and skills required to gain employment or identify opportunities in today’s global marketplace. Ongoing one-on-one psychosocial counselling is also provided.

Carolyn Tastad, Gender Equality Executive Sponsor and Group President of North America for P&G, explained the company’s motivation in participating.

“Our commitment today as P&G and through our Always brand contributes to our aspiration to build a better world for all of us — a world free of gender bias."