1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Girls' Leadership, Engagement, Agency, and Development Act of 2019 or the Girls LEAD Act . 2. Findings Congress makes the following findings: (1) Inclusive democracy and governance are fundamental objectives and critical foundations for sustainable development and global peace. Promotion of democracy, human rights, and governance is a reflection of fundamental American values and identity. (2) Democracies score consistently higher than nondemocracies on a broad range of socioeconomic development indicators, including infant and child mortality, life expectancy, primary school enrollment, adult literacy, female youth literacy, female secondary school enrollment, and access to clean water. (3) Women’s political participation results in tangible gains for democracy, including greater responsiveness to citizen needs, increased cooperation across party and ethnic lines, and more sustainable peace. (4) Women in leadership positions are more likely to resolve national crises without resorting to violence, sustain peace agreements over longer periods of time, advocate for social issues that benefit all, and allocate budgets to health and education. (5) Despite comprising over 50 percent of the world’s population, women are underrepresented at all levels of public sector decision making. At the current rate of progress, it will take over 100 years to achieve gender parity in political participation. (6) Engaging adolescent girls more in civil and political activities contributes to increased political participation and women’s leadership around the world over time. Adolescents who participate actively in their community from early on are more likely to become engaged citizens and voters, with higher levels of ambition for future leadership positions in both politics and the private sector. Their safe, meaningful, and appropriate participation is key to creating democratic societies with informed and engaged citizens. (7) Adolescence is a critical period in a girl’s life, when