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The work of today

“The work of today is the history of tomorrow, and we are its makers,” said Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of Girl Scouts. I just returned from the Girl Scout National Convention, which is held every three years, and I’ll share some Girl Scout news in the next couple of blog posts. –Joy

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Malala’s going to Oxford

Malala’s going to be an Oxford scholar. The antiquarian print of an Oxford scholar hanging in my office—purchased years ago when I visited England—shows a male student in a red robe. Malala Yousafza, 20 now, doesn’t fit the stereotype of an Oxford scholar or a Muslim young woman. And, she’s not interested in doing what […]

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Tell a girl that she is smart

Researchers at New York University asked boys and girls to identify a person who is really, really smart. At age five, children associated being smart with their own gender. But, by six or seven, girls were “significantly less likely” to pick women as being really, really smart. The study suggests that girls often believe that […]

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Powerful and valuable

Never doubt that you are powerful and valuable, Hillary Clinton told the girls of this country in her speech the day after the 2016 presidential election. We hope every girl was listening. Hillary Clinton said: “I know we have still not shattered that highest and hardest glass ceiling, but someday someone will—and hopefully sooner than […]

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We all have felt other

“Writing in a younger voice allowed me to name the thing without a name,” explained Sandra Cisneros in the introduction to the 10th anniversary edition of her book The House on Mango Street. The book is the story of a young girl growing up in the Latino section of Chicago. The thing without a name […]

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What’s success for a girl?

Jennifer Floyd Engel questions how much effect ads that seek to empower girls can have. “We can make 1,000 ads about empowering girls, but until we change what defines success for them, it will be an uphill climb,” Engel, who blogs at blogslikeagirl.tumblr.com, writes in The Dallas Morning News. “Because what we tell girls every, […]

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A brain and a uterus

If you sometimes wonder how much progress women have made, read an interesting book called Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross. Pope Joan, a ninth-century woman who disguised herself as a man and eventually became the only female to serve as pope, lived during what definitely was the Dark Ages for women. For example, when […]

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Spend some time outdoors

Girls who spend more time outdoors are better problem solvers, and they are more ready to seek challenges. Plus, they’re more interested in environmental stewardship. Those are the conclusions from a 2012 national study by the Girl Scout Research Institute. And, we conclude that what’s good for girls must be good for women, too. We’re […]

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Girls can do everything

It was 1872, and Blanche was 12 years old when she announced: “I am going to be a steamboat captain someday.” Mr. Blackstone, captain of the J.P. Whittaker, raised his big eyebrows. And then he laughed. “Girls don’t grow up to be steamboatmen,” he said. Judith Heide Gilliland tells the true story of Blanche Leathers […]

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Wisdom from Malala

Malala Yousafzai was shot by the Taliban in Pakistan in 2012 because she demanded that girls be allowed to get an education. Malala says: “We realize the importance of our voices only when we are silenced.” “Let us pick up our books and our pens; they are the most powerful weapons.” “I will raise up […]

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