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