Venus Ebony Starr Williams, like her sister Serena Williams, is a professional tennis player. Growing up in a poverty-stricken community, Williams struggled to achieve success. As a former No.1 tennis player, Williams has won several grand slams, including two at the U.S. Open and five at Wimbledon. As the first Black woman tennis player to become No. 1 in the modern era, Williams has left a legacy for women globally. Not only has she paved the way for women’s tennis, but Williams is also promoting educational rights for women globally.

Humanitarian Work

According to UNESCO, around 244 million children in Africa between the ages of 6 and 18 are out of school. The Human Rights Watch estimates that more than 49 million women in Sub-Saharan Africa are out of primary and secondary schooling, undermining their opportunities and limiting their rights. Early marriages are a factor in the lack of women’s education in Africa. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 40% of girls below the age of 18 are married, preventing them from receiving a proper education.

In response, Williams is promoting educational rights for women by partnering with CARE, an international humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. The aim of the partnership is to raise awareness and encourage girls’ education in developing regions by supporting programs in Kenya and Malawi. According to UNESCO, 74% of the Malawi population lives in poverty, and education for girls often ends in primary school. Williams is promoting educational rights by contributing $25,000 to assist CARE in launching a vocational training program based in Malawi. The vocational training program has been able to reach out to 50 women in Malawi.

Educational Support in Latin America

According to the Pew Research Center, 33% of Latinos ages 18 to 24 are enrolled in school, compared to an average of 42%. The lack of education that Latinos receive is evident in the socio-economic challenges that they face. Latino families are 1.5 times more likely to live below the poverty line compared to white families.

Alongside supporting the education of African girls, Williams is promoting educational rights for Latinas. She has constantly supported the Eva Longoria Foundation, an organization that helps “Latinas build better futures for themselves and their families through education and entrepreneurship.”

The Eva Longoria Foundation

The Eva Longoria Foundation works by launching programs that are culturally relevant in order to enhance the learning and productivity of Latinas. According to the Eva Longoria Foundation, 17% of U.S. women are Latina, yet only 2% of them are in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) workforce. The Eva Longoria Foundation launched the STEM Program, which encourages young Latinas’ love for math and science at a young age through projects like coding and robotics. Through Williams’ support of the organization, the Eva Longoria Foundation has been successful in teaching STEM skills to more than 2,000 young Latina women.

– Yana Gupta 
Photo: Flickr