The time has come for citizens of the world to rethink economic systems that have left billions of people in poverty and undervalued the importance of informal economies in the developing world. In order for systemic change to occur, all citizens must learn fundamental economic literacy, and learn to value the contributions of women to our economic system.

DailyWorth.com is a free daily personal finance email for women, with practical tips and empowering ideas about how women can become financially stable and successful. For Economica, the women of DailyWorth offered the following inspired words to encourage all women to recognize our self worth and to create our own wealth. You can sign up for DailyWorth here.

The region of Kashmir and Jammu in northern India is home to many impoverished women struggling to support themselves and their families. With few profitable industries to choose from, and little educational background, they turn to brick-making, farming, and weaving. For some, teaching and nursing are also viable alternatives, though these jobs are difficult to find and often require travel. In this photo series, photographer Elena Fava Emerson shares a glimpse of the women of the region hard at work.

Camfed (the Campaign for Female Education) fights poverty and HIV/AIDS in Africa by educating girls and investing in economic and leadership opportunities for young women. Their Leadership and Enterprise Program in rural Zambia trains high school graduates in core business and problem-solving skills, and prepares them to launch their own strong, sustainable enterprises.

Though most businesses claim to be Equal Opportunity Employers and women now make up half of the American workforce, is there really such a thing as equality in the workplace? When negotiating salaries or asking for a raise, what should women expect? Whitney Johnson is a founding partner of Rose Park Advisors, Clayton M. Christensen's investment firm. Listen to a podcast interview with Johnson about this essay, called "When Women Ask For Raises," on the Harvard Business Review Web site.

Women have made great strides and are now more likely to be economically responsible for themselves and their families than ever before. In fact, for the first time in U.S. history, women are half of all U.S. workers and mothers are the primary breadwinners or co-breadwinners in nearly two-thirds of American families. Heather Boushey, Center for American Progress senior economist, explores how American lives have changed with women as the new breadwinners. Boushey says that equality in the workplace has not yet been achieved, even as families need women's equality now more than ever. This essay was published by the Center for American Progress as part of a chapter in The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Changes Everything.

"Tanzania Unlimited, Ltd." is a collection of photos showcasing business in Africa. It focuses on Tanzania's economy, which has grown due to increased exports and other international trade. Though new industries are a boone to the nation's economy, participation in the global market also creates cultural tension. International companies often impose foreign social codes and structures onto Tanzanian society, creating a culture clash in the business arena. This tension, along with the country's ethnic diversity and growing local economy, sets the stage for Mathilde Jansen's documentary-style, collage, and set-up photography.

In many developing countries, a widowed woman faces dire economic and social conditions. Fifty percent of the estimated 100 million widows in the developing world are impoverished, and 10% of widows' children will die before age 5 due to lack of access to resources. Upon the death of a husband, widows are often stripped of their property, given negligible access to the job market, and suffer harsh social stigma. Though these problems have reached epidemic proportions, they are hardly acknowledged by developed nations. Windows for Widows founder Heather Ibrahim-Leathers comments on the epidemic of widowhood and explains what can be done to help.

Artist Namita Kulkarni was inspired to create this painting after watching a little girl in India walk a tightrope as a way to earn money for her family. Kulkarni saw the little girl's balancing act as a metaphor for what women around the world do every day in balancing work and home, family and money, and personal dreams and practical necessities.

Around the world, women are considered commodities. Many women's families force them into marriage against their will by selling them, and beautiful, honorable women are thought to fetch a higher bride price. Because women are viewed as property, they have limited rights--a man can do anything to his own property. A brutal form of punishment has left hundreds of women and girls disfigured by acid attacks--a common crime in some countries, committed against women who rebuff admirers, disobey their husbands or even simply attend school. Artist Diane Bush hopes to use her artwork to bring these crimes to light, raise funds from commissions and donate money to Doctors Without Borders as a means of assisting victims of acid attacks worldwide.

Photographer Masud Alam Liton gives us a startling and stark look at the lives of sex workers in a community in Bangladesh. In the process, Liton wonders about what freedoms these women have gained through their work, what they've had to give up and what can never be taken from them.

Around the world, one out of every six human beings lives in extreme poverty, struggling to survive on about one dollar a day. The majority of those people are women. What is living on a dollar a day really like? Ritu Sharma, president and cofounder of Women Thrive Worldwide, goes to Guatemala to find out.

Filmmaker Sumithra Prasanna visits a unique institution in India that relies on community members, rather than experts, to help solve local problems. She found when the community was given the authority to solve their own problems, confidence rose, gender relations improved and a ripple effect of positive changes occurred.