Gap celebrates Int'l Day of the Girl with expanded women's development program

By

Cassidy Mantor

Published
Oct 11, 2016

In honor of International Day of the Girl, Gap has announced the expansion of its signature P.A.C.E. program to help girls and women gain confidence and life skills in their communities.

P.A.C.E. stands for Personal Advancement & Career Enhancement. P.A.C.E. was started in 2007 with the goal of improving the lives of the women who make Gap clothing.

In 2013 the program expanded outside of the factory worker setting to offer life skills and education to women globally. The program is now featuring an enhanced curriculum to help women achieve equality and confidence in their communities.

"It is the personal journeys of the women involved with P.A.C.E. that inspire us and push us further," said Dotti Hatcher, Executive Director, P.A.C.E.

She continued, "It is the stories we have heard and the women that we have worked with that have led to us creating the girls program."

An example of the stories highlighted include that of Sri Lankan tea plantation workers, Mary, Margaret and Puwaneshwary. These 3 women are current P.A.C.E. participants and are benefiting from the education by fighting back against their country's low female literacy rate. Sri Lanka boasts a 90 percent literacy rate for men, while only 67 percent of women are literate.

Gap has partnered with the award-winning 23 Stories x Condé Nast studio to release a 12 minute documentary-style film directed by internationally acclaimed filmmaker Vanessa Black. This film is available on the US and UK Vogue sites.

Gap has plans to further expand P.A.C.E. by 2020 with P.A.C.E. for girls ages 13-17. The new girls' program will pilot in Haiti and India this fall, followed by Sri Lanka and other countries next year.