Giving Compass' Take:

• Kathryn Spencer explains how Educate Girls works to effect systems change for women and the environment through partnerships with the government. 

• How can this model be used elsewhere? What partners could help you achieve your philanthropic goals? 

• Learn about the link between women's education and climate change.

As we face a looming 12-year deadline on climate change, increasing threats to democracy, and a global refugee population of unprecedented size, effecting social change at a systems level has perhaps never been more important. But what does sustainable systems change look like in practice? How do we convene multiple actors within a given issue area, and bring them together in unexpected ways to drive change? The speakers on the “Accelerating Systems Change” panel at this year’s Skoll World Forum offered key insights on those questions and more.

When tackling complex, far-reaching social problems, determining how and where to focus efforts is key, says Safeena Husain, Founder and CEO of Educate Girls. Educate Girls combats gender inequity in India by ensuring young girls are enrolled in school. But, when Husain first set out to do this work, the enormity of the problem was not lost on her: India is home to 1 billion people spread across 650,000 villages. Where, then, to begin?

Government data helped her locate the state with the most acute gender disparity: Rajasthan. Then, by sending community volunteers door to door, Husain learned the problem was more concentrated than she thought: 5 percent of villages in India are home to 40 percent of the nation’s unenrolled girls. “If we really focus,” she realized, “and really use an evidence-built model, we can actually solve 40 percent of the problem.” With a clear vision for success and a sharp focus on where the need is greatest, Educate Girls has enrolled over 380,000 girls since its inception.

Read the full article about systems-level change by Kathryn Spencer at Skoll Foundation.