Lighting the dark: in communities around the world, strong and dedicated women are breaking gender stereotypes to earn the income they need to support their families.

• Author: Gianturco, Paola

The United Nations Development Programme has estimated that a quarter of the world's families are supported exclusively by women, and another quarter primarily by women. These women are my heroines,

For the past 12 years, I have worked as a photojournalist documenting women's lives in 40 countries. Many of the women I photograph live below the UN income poverty fine, yet they manage to feed and educate their children with the money they earn as entrepreneurs. Many are illiterate; their access to resources is limited, Most work in groups, some in cooperatives They run microbusinesses, often without the benefit of microcredit, equipped only with skill and determination.

These women share the conviction that education can open up new possibilities for their daughters and sons. But even in places where tuition is free, school shoes and uniforms, books, paper and pencils are beyond reach. Energy, ingenuity and commitment make it possible for them to save the necessary funds for schooling. Some juggle four or five income generating projects at once.

The story of women earning money to send their children to school can be told in many ways.

Around the world, female artisans are using skills their mothers taught them to make and sell crafts that are considered "women's work" in their cultures: rugs in Morocco and Turkey; beadwork in South Africa; weaving in Guatemala; applique in Panama; embroidery in India and Thailand; pottery in Nepal; knitting in Bolivia. While documenting their stories, these women became my friends and teachers. They showed that the world is smaller--and women's spirits are larger--than I had ever imagined.

Today, everywhere I work I find local women helping each other to solve the...