Former NEA President Mary Hatwood Futrell set the standard of transforming educational access for young women.
She fiercely advocated for equal access to courses of study, career advancement, and most importantly… access to respect and dignity regardless of gender.
Girls Inc. continues Futrell’s mission to strike down bias and stereotypes for women of all backgrounds.
Their origins date back to 1864, with Rachel Harris Johnson’s founding of the Girls Club of America in Waterbury, Connecticut. Her goal? Helping young women transform from a rural lifestyle, into a post-Civil War migration towards urban centers… aspiring to enter the workforce.
When fourteen chapters nationwide consolidated to a national organization in 1945, Girls Inc. and their mission became clear: to produce a generation of “strong, smart and bold” young women to be their best.
For over eighty years, Girls Inc., recognizing education as a fundamental civil right, has promoted leadership skills and targeted esteem building to wage the battle for gender equity. They provide evidence-based research to school districts across the country, preventing girls from being discouraged or steered away from science, technology, engineering and math, demonstrating that if given half the change, they can achieve twice as much.
But “S.T.E.M.-ing the tide” of this gender gap is half the battle. The real challenge is dealing with how young women see themselves. Girls Inc. promotes confidence, workshops and frank discussions on issue vital to teen girls, imparting financial literacy, health and mental wellness, and civic engagement. The key component to their work is youth-centered advocacy to affect change. Girls Inc. believes that speaking truth to power empowers.
Inclusivity isn’t just a buzzword to be weaponized against young women… it’s the basic fabric or our democracy, and what Girls Inc. has addressed for over one hundred thousand girls across America, from disparate regions, economic backgrounds, races, nationalities, and orientations.
In these challenging times, Girls Inc. is prepared to adapt their focus to meet all our “new normals”, but above all, normalize equitable treatment for young women… the credo that Mary Hatwood Futrell embodies to this day.
Girls Inc…. ready or not… here they come… they won’t hide.
