 I'm Natasha Stott Despoir, Australia's ambassador for women and girls. I sometimes get asked why we need an ambassador for women and girls. Well, we live in a world in which 65 million girls are out of school. Every three seconds a girl is forced or coerced into marriage and the leading cause of death for young women aged 15 to 19 in developing countries is pregnancy. Did you know a girl in southern Sudan is more likely to die in childbirth than she is to finish primary school? This year, on the International Day of the Girl Child, we celebrate the world's girls and young women, particularly by promoting their political empowerment. Young women's leadership is an issue very close to my heart. The equal participation of women and girls in decision making and leadership is a necessity. It's the only way to achieve prosperity for all. October 11 is an opportunity to look at the rights we've secured for girls but also to consider the many challenges that remain. So what would happen if we actually changed the status of girls and women? An extra year of education beyond the average boosts girls' eventual wages by 10 to 20%. An extra year of a mother's schooling cuts infant mortality by 15 to 25%. And an increase of only 1% in girls' secondary education attendance adds 0.3% to a country's GDP. The United Nations has reported that the Asia-Pacific region would gain up to $89 billion US every year if limits on women's participation in the workforce were removed. And according to the International Labor Organization, closing gaps in education would add more than $16 billion US annually to the region. I am glad that Australia has positioned gender equality as a critical cross-cutting issue in our aid program and as a key outcome of foreign policy. And as Australia's Ambassador for Women and Girls, I'm pleased to support the journeys of young women into leadership positions in all parts of society and in all places. Happy International Day of the Girl Child.