Every year my high school cancels classes for one day. Classtime is devoted to “Diversity Day,” a day of celebration and discussion.

Last year, Diversity Day focused on the question: “Does gender matter?”

The general reaction from my fellow students: “No.”

I was surprised at this reaction. To me, it seems clear – gender does matter!

Gender matters because globally speaking, women struggle more than almost any other demographic.

Gender matters because this struggle often goes unrecognized.

One example: childbirth.

When we think of childbirth in the first world, we think of the miracle of life. Childbirth happens—we imagine—in a hospital filled with doctors and nurses ensuring the safety of both mother and child.

Unfortunately, this is often not the case. Women around the world still perish in childbirth. While annual maternal mortality has notably fallen over the past few years, there are still women dying needlessly in childbirth, so there is still work to be done.

How to defeat maternal mortality? Expand healthcare and maternal clinics.

Easier said than done.

Cultures most plagued by maternal mortality have a history of undervaluing women. So even if the necessary clinics were installed, many women still wouldn’t make the trip. As a result, women do not receive life-saving vaccinations, and they’re often left with untrained midwives who can do more harm than good.

Midwives’ improper training—or lack of any training—can lead to a variety of complications, including a condition called obstetric fistula, in which a hole forms between the rectal and vaginal passages or between the vaginal passage and the bladder. This particular condition afflicts more than three million women worldwide. Unable to control their own bodily fluids, these women are left humiliated and further marginalized by their communities.

Healthcare deficiencies are accompanied and compounded by pervasive poverty. Millions of people around the world struggle in poverty, and the United Nations estimates that seventy percent of these are women.

Poverty-stricken families prioritize food over education. Because they cannot afford the uniforms and supplies needed for school, families instead send their children to work. Again, gender matters: for young girls, ‘work’ can mean being sold into sex slavery.

In general, girls are more than likely to be the first in their families to leave school. Of the 115 million children worldwide who have dropped out of school, fifty-three percent are girls.

Making education possible can break the cycle of poverty, help women avoid lives in brothels, and lead to decreased rates of teen pregnancy. Gender dynamics can change by emphasizing the importance of education, one girl at a time.

My classmates might not realize that around the world gender still determines the way that people live, the life choices that they make, and the life-changing decisions that are made for them.

And it’s not that my classmates don’t care—that’s not why they concluded that gender doesn’t matter. Many of us, I think, could be better informed.

Education is of pivotal importance, not just to better the lives of women around the world, but also to ensure that people like me and my fellow students understand the world we live in. Awareness is the first step towards finding a solution.

“Diversity Day” may have a trite ring to it. But I think every school should have such a day—devoting time to talk about the issues of the world.

Once we realize how and why gender matters, each of us at Berkeley Carroll can realize our capacity to change the way people, particularly women, are treated.