Global advocacy group highlights economic consequences of bias against women's education

According to a new report released in Toronto, lack of education for girls costs the world's poorest countries billions of years in lost revenue.

Rosemary McCarney, president and CEO of the Canadian arm of Plan International, which released the report said that study after study has found that if young women are economically active, the country's economy grows and all members of the family benefit.

She added that investing in girls brings in higher returns than in any other investment in a country's development but this is being ignored which is a loss for everyone.

The third annual Because I Am a Girl report reveals that countries with high levels of institutional discrimination against girls and women also rank as the least developed nations.

According to the report, even a one-per cent rise in the number of girls attending secondary school boosts national per capita income growth by 0.3 per cent.

The report found that Kenya could add $3 billion to its economy if it educated its girls to secondary school level.