passport to progress

September 13, 2007

Education and training are keys to building a prosperous future

Improving education is one of the world’s best investments. Give people the right education and training, and you not only develop individuals, but you enable more prosperous communities and foster the intellectual capacity needed to address society’s future challenges.

But around the world, “improving education” can have very different meanings. As a company with an interest in helping build stable, thriving societies, ExxonMobil approaches this challenge in different ways.

Today in the United States, there is a pressing need to focus on math and science. American students have been losing ground to other countries in these subjects, which are the foundation for technological innovation and economic leadership. Reversing this trend is vital to America’s future prosperity and security.

That’s why ExxonMobil funds math and science programs across the country. We recently committed $125 million to the National Math and Science Initiative, which is taking successful programs to national scale. We also encourage students, particularly women and minorities, to pursue careers in math, science, technology and engineering.

In developing countries, the focus is on broadening access to basic education. In West Africa, we have helped build or renovate nearly 50 schools, impacting over 10,000 students. We also fund programs that battle gender stereotypes that have kept girls from attending school.

In fact, studies show that expanding education for women and girls can have a “multiplier effect” for local communities, leading to better health conditions and reduced poverty. Through our Educating Women and Girls Initiative, launched in 2005, we have provided millions of dollars in grants to encourage girls to attend school, and train women to manage businesses and community service organizations.

But education doesn’t end in the classroom; it includes sharing knowledge, practices and skills with local workers and businesses so that they too can improve and succeed. ExxonMobil does this as part of a deliberate strategy to support sustainable economic progress in countries where we live and work. This effort, known as “national content,” also includes doing business with local suppliers, and other community investments.

At ExxonMobil, we believe that maximizing energy resources is about more than energy production; it is also about developing human capacity and delivering sustainable, long-term benefits to local communities. No benefit is more lasting than education, a passport to progress for people the world over.