Harnessing the Power of Girls
If there’s one thing you learn when you’re involved with the Girl Scouts, it’s that girls are capable of pretty much anything. From building robotic hands to building libraries that teach new immigrants to read English, our girls have done amazing things for over 100 years. With the right encouragement, guidance, training and confidence, girls grow into women who change our world and lead it to great things. But getting them that guidance, reinforcing that training, and turning education into real-world skills and confidence is where things can get tricky.
At Girl Scouts, we have always known that girls are the key to our collective future. Gender balance in the workplace and in the public sphere is vital to ensuring that every voice is heard, and every outlook is considered. To us, there’s no mystery as to why corporate boards with more female members outperform male dominated boards. One of the best things we can do as a nation to ensure the long term strength of America is to invest in girls. Women bring a unique perspective to the courtroom, classroom, and caucus room. For America to maintain its competitive edge in today’s fast-paced environment, we must leverage the full potential of our workforce, men and women alike. Gender-balanced leadership in business, government, and the nonprofit space is essential to ensuring America’s economic future.
Yet, too often, America has failed to invest in itself because it has failed to invest in girls. Today, fewer than 10 cents of every philanthropic dollar is spent on girls, and girls show a tendency to lose interest in the fields of tomorrow, like STEM, when they receive the message that science and technology is “for boys” from our society. This means we are losing out on the insights, ideas, and potential impact of girls for our future. It’s a simple equation really. If we want America to remain a world leader, we have to champion the types of programming that helps girls sustain the gains they make in school.
Girl Scouts understands the vital connection between the development of young girls and their future success. We support and bolster the benefits of school by fostering a safe environment where girls are free to experiment and apply themselves. This ancillary developmental step is crucial to empowering girls to take up the mantle of leadership in America. We also know that we get the best results when girls start young, and when their Girl Scout experience is tailored to bolster and augment the gains they make in school. The inclusive, girl-led, all female environment of a Girl Scout troop creates a safe space where girls can practice new skills, try new things, feel free to take up leadership positions, and yes, even feel free and safe to fail and try again.
Here in Northeast Texas, with so much growth in our economy, we recognize that our rapidly growing and changing workforce needs are dependent on having girls prepared to enter STEM fields. That was the inspiration behind the development of the STEM Center of Excellence in southwest Dallas, a living laboratory where girls can explore science, technology, engineering and math programs, activities and careers. The progressive 98-acre campus serves girls K-12th grade with girl-led, hands-on and collaborative programming that brings the best of the Girl Scout Leadership Experience together with the best of STEM expertise in our community. Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas is raising $13M to invest in this facility which we expect to ultimately change the workforce pipeline in North Texas.
This investment is guided by what we know about girls. In a recent Girl Scout Research Institute study, 74% of girls agree that they learn more by doing things than by being told things. A majority of girls agree that adults in Girl Scouts listen to girls more than they do in other places and that the adult makes them feel valuable. Finally, girls see Girl Scouts as a portal to access more information and experiences with STEM during the key career exploration years in high school. Girl Scouts has a legacy of being the girl expert; today we can apply those learnings to encouraging girls in the careers of tomorrow.
The good news is that Americans seem to understand the importance of investing in girls, and that the time to start is now. Our Girl Scouts Research Institute has released a pulse poll of American voters which shows that a vast majority of American voters believe investing in girls’ education is the key to our country’s advancement. American voters believe in the value of supporting girls’ leadership development through preparation in subjects, hands on experience, and career exposure to financial literacy, STEM, and business. In fact, 82 percent of voters feel that America’s future depends on preparing girls for careers in business, science, finance, and other careers traditionally dominated by men.
This is the time for Americans to act. From Washington to Wall Street, to the women who serve as the CEOs and CFOs of their families, wherever you see courageous, determined, effective female leaders, you are most likely looking at one of our 59 million living alumnae. With over 90 percent of Americans suggesting that they believe out-of-school programs play an important role in helping girls maintain their interest and achievements in STEM and other fields, the public support for the Girl Scout mission is there. It’s time for our leaders to hear from that overwhelming majority, and to harness the power of girls to help America invest in itself.
Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas needs the community to engage with their work as volunteers, as investors and as advocates for girls. Contact us at www.gsnetx.org to learn more ways to get involved today.
Jennifer Bartkowski serves as the CEO of Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas. Bartkowski has been with GSNETX since 2009, when she joined the council as Chief Development Officer. Bartkowski is the mother of two children, including a Girl Scout Junior and is the proud recipient of the Girl Scout Silver Award.
