Sex education is still a controversial topic in American schools, largely due to the fact that the way we talk about it is outdated. Students need to know about their rights, their bodies, and what it all means concerning their sexual health.

High rates of drop-out, failure, and underperformance, especially among minority and low-income students, are testimony to the way school systems can fail those it should be lifting up. What are the key indicators we should track to ensure we progress towards equity and equality in education?

High-quality childcare provides a powerful two-generation approach to building the human capital that a prosperous and sustainable America requires. It supports parents: increasing completion of postsecondary education, raising labor force participation, increasing workforce productivity, and helping businesses attract and retain talent.

Connectivity in the home is essential for all families if they are to fully participate in the digital society, and that connectivity equals opportunity.

Because social media is such a prominent influence in the modern world, we need to start bringing social networking to education: providing schools with a collaboration platform, content creation and knowledge banks for classrooms, etc., in order to make learning collaborative and fun for students, teachers, parents and management.

Currently women represent only a quarter of the technology workforce, and Black women just three percent. It is imperative to give young Black girls the skills to code so they have equal access to future jobs in technology an industry that is predicted to employ 1.4M people in the US alone.

Globally, we – governments, private sector, families, individuals – spend more than $5.6 trillion a year on education and training. Countries spend 5 percent of GDP on education or 20 percent of their national budget. Education employs about five percent of the labor force. Global average cost per child for full course of schooling, including pre-primary education is 5,806.6 USD.

Legacy of slavery research has branched out into an important new niche in social science research by making empirical connections between the trans-Atlantic slave trade and contemporary social outcomes. However, the vast majority of this research examines Black-white inequality or Black disadvantage without devoting corresponding attention to the other side of inequality: white advantage.

Of the 45 million people worldwide who are blind or visually impaired, 80% live in developing countries. People with disabilities miss out on education and employment opportunities, are more at risk of violence, and face daily discrimination. We must ensure all people have the chance to fully engage in society, regardless of their abilities.

In the US, women currently hold 24% of the jobs in computing—a level that has held steady since 2011, according to data from Girls Who Code. That percentage is likely to fall to 22% by 2025 if no new efforts are made to create and sustain young women’s interest in computing, from junior high to university.