McGraw is the president of Women’s Empowerment International, a nonprofit that funds microfinance, small business development, education and training, and other barrier-breaking programs that give women the opportunity to work their way out of poverty. She lives in Cardiff. On International Women’s Day, March 8, the United Nations called for the world to “Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress” as the best way to increase economic growth and build more prosperous, equitable societies. The U.N.
and climate shocks have set back progress toward that goal, but the goal remains, and should be achievable in our lifetimes. Sounds improbable? So did the successful 1990-2013 worldwide effort to cut extreme poverty in half. That enabled 1 billion people to escape extreme poverty. Such profound poverty is a worldwide problem. It’s poignantly evident in San Diego’s tent encampments, but much of our local poverty is invisible.