What's Going on with Girls?

What’s going on with girls?

What every woman should know and why it ma4ers

Linda Keene, CEO

Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin River Valleys

THE GIRL EFFECT

Economic Security

Strong Families

Civic Impact

Higher educa>onal a4ainment

Higher earnings and greater family economic security

Improved individual and family health outcomes

Lower probability of children dropping out of school or involved in crime

Reduced expenditures for public support programs

Higher tax revenue from increased life>me earnings and spending

early childhood women’s issues

26 million girls ages k-­‐12 educaFon 5-­‐17

youth development

Challenges facing girls Challenges are compounded by race and economic dispariFes.

Economic well-­‐being

EducaFon

Self-­‐esteem

Teen pregnancy

Physical health

Safety

EmoFonal health

Minnesota’s girls Girls of color represent a quarter of Minnesota girls (vs. 49% na>onally), with Hispanic/La>nas growing at the fastest rate. 16% of Minnesota girls live in immigrant families.

American Indian

Asian La>na

African American

White

Economic well-­‐being Although Minnesota compares favorably to the na>onal average (12% vs.

17%), poverty is a significant issue for girls of color.

White

Hispanic/La>na

27%

7%

41% African American

45% American Indian/ Alaskan

24%

Asian Pacific Islander

EmoFonal health and safety

40%

of girls report problems with depression, sleep, or anxiety

More than 30% have been

bullied or harassed

14%

have experienced relaFonship violence

15%

have suicidal thoughts

Self-­‐esteem Girls’ self-­‐esteem suffers a drama>c drop from 5th grade to 11th grade.

Boys’ self-­‐esteem drops much less.

81%

84%

5th g rade

5th grade

58%

Girls

11th grade

Boys

78%

11th grade

Education Four-­‐year graduaFon rates for African American, La>na, and American Indian girls are considerably lower than the state average of 80%.

Teen pregnancy Minnesota’s girls of color are more likely to become teen mothers, with Asian American and American Indian girls far exceeding na>onal averages.

American Indian

African American White

Minnesota

La>na

U.S. average

Asian

U.S. leadership Only 18% of American leadership posi>ons are held by women.

18%

law

16%

business

21%

non-­‐profit

17%

poli>cs

11%

military

23%

academia

21%

sports

16%

film & TV

Girls and leadership Leadership is not a top goal for girls.

9% 39%

52%

Only 39% of girls say they want to be a leader

And 52% say it is not that important to them

9% say they do not want to be a leader

Girls are twice as likely as boys to be concerned that being a leader will make people see them as “bossy”

Media influences 20 years ago

the average model weighed

8% less than the average woman

today that number is 23% haracters with jobs 80% of in gc-­‐rated films are male;

of the 2 0% that are female

almost none are CEOs, lawyers, or poliFcians

56% of TV commercials

aimed at women use beauty as a product appeal

daily media consumpFon for U.S. teenagers:

10 hours & 45 minutes

Body image

3 out of 4

teenage girls feel depressed, guilty & shameful a_er spending 3 minutes looking through a fashion magazine

31% admit to starving themselves to lose weight

53% of 13-­‐year-­‐olds & 78% of 17-­‐year-­‐olds

are unhappy with their bodies

SFll on the sidelines A majority of Minnesota girls are not parFcipaFng, in the types of out of school >me ac>vi>es that help develop self-­‐confidence and cri>cal leadership skills.

Leadership acFviFes

School sports teams

10% of 5th grade girls

43% of 11th grade girls

24% of 11th grade girls Community clubs 21% of 5th grade girls 10% of 11th grade girls

Community sports teams

School clubs

49% of 5th grade girls

24% of 5th grade girls

29% of 11th grade girls

34% of 11th grade girls

The connecFon The challenges facing girls affect progress toward gender equity.

We need girls to succeed

Girls need mentors and champions

How do we engage and moFvate women on behalf of girls?

Equality = equal input

Equity = equal output

Top confidence builders What can we do to ensure all girls have access?

Girls-­‐only experiences

Mentoring and role models

Physical and intellectual challenges

CooperaFve learning environments

Other support strategies

Encourage a growth mindset

Teach media literacy and criFcal viewing skills

Pay afenFon to gender-­‐biased language

invest in girls. change the world.

Sources and more informaFon References

Status of Women and Girls in Minnesota, Women’s Founda>on of Minnesota (2014) The Confidence Gap, by Ka4y Kay and Claire Shipman, Atlan>c Monthly (2014) State of Girls: Unfinished Business, Girl Scouts Research Ins>tute (2013) Minnesota Student Survey (2013) Genera=on STEM: What Girls Say About Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, Girl Scouts Research Ins>tute (2012) Girls and Reality TV, Girl Scouts Research Ins>tute (2011) How Girls Thrive by JoAnn Deak, PhD, Green Blanket Press (2010) Girls on the Edge by Leonard Sax, Basic Books (2010) Changing It Up: What Girls Say About Leadership (2008) Where the Girls Are: The facts About Gender Equity in Educa=on (2008) When Girls Don’t Graduate, We All Fail, Na>onal Women’s Law Center (2007) Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dwek, Random House (2006) Shortchanging Girls, Shortchanging America, American Associa>on of University Women (1994)

Websites

Growth Mindset: www.mindset.com Media literacy and cri>cal viewing skills: www.therepresenta>onproject.org and www.seejane.org Gender-­‐biased language: www.banbossy.com