Sheryl Sandberg

Improving the lives of girls and young women is a vast and interconnected endeavor. But time and time again, studies show that when women's lives improve—economically, educationally, health-wise or otherwise—so do their family's. In the following pages are three areas where Jackson can empower its women.

First, leadership. To make long-term gains for women, they need movement at both ends of the wage spectrum—at one end, they need to earn a living wage, while at the other, women must break the glass ceiling (and continue to break it) to reach upper-tier success and pay equal to that of men in the same job. In between, they need the confidence, tenacity, experience and skill sets to reach leadership roles, so that they can mentor and inspire younger women. Communities need women representing them at the highest levels of politics, business, medicine and all other fields. To leave them out is to ignore the voices of half the population.