More than half the women elected to the 116th Congress were Girl Scouts

[G_j]

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/cookies-congress-half-women-elected-116th-congress-girl-scouts-195951999.html

Young women who participate in Girl Scouts leave with more than just a green vest, some hard-earned badges and a knack for driving cookie sales. Girl Scouts have a track record of growing up to become leaders — especially in Congress. According to Girl Scouts of the U.S.A., 60 percent of the women elected to Congress during the historic 2018 midterm elections are Girl Scout alums. Among those elected who promised to live by the Girl Scout Law are representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley and Jahana Hayes, as well as the reelected Sen. Tammy Baldwin.

Additionally, five of the nine newly elected female governors are also former Girl Scouts, including Laura Kelly of Kansas, Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan.

“We don’t think it’s a coincidence that the majority of women in the 116th Congress, and the majority of female political leaders in Congress from nearly the past decade, were once Girl Scouts,” says Alice Hockenbury, vice president of public policy and advocacy for Girl Scouts of the U.S.A. “Girl Scouts offers a powerful program for girls to have leadership opportunities, build confidence, take risks, learn from failures and so much more — all of which is essential when running for office and taking on those positions of power.”

According to Hockenbury, civic engagement has been a core focus of the organizations since its founding more than a century ago. Girl Scouts can earn civic-engagement-related accolades like the Inside Government for Juniors badge and the Public Policy for Ambassadors badge. The organization even launched G.I.R.L. Agenda Powered by Girl Scouts, a “nonpartisan initiative to inspire, prepare and mobilize girls and those who care about them to lead positive change through civic action,” says Hockenbury.

..more..

[TheBlackAdder]

1. I raised an important issue with the GS and was pretty much dismissed.

.

While my girls were of GS age, and one was in it, I took a Center for American Woman & Politics course at Rutgers University.

They are the only university research group that specializes in Women & Politics.


There are intense gender role pressures placed on girls, which completely manifests itself in early college years. There was a Wonkette article about 5-6 years ago that showed a difference between a Pittsburgh Science Center's Boy Scout & Girl Scout events. The Boy Scouts had a dozen classes, from science, rocketry, chemistry, etc. The Girl Scouts only had one class, The Glamour of Glitter... making glitter crafts. (Update: It should be noted that the girls & boys were the ones who picked the class(es) and without any guidance, they picked what they were used to and wanted.)

While I provided the NJ Chapter a series of research materials, showing how girls need to be aware of these gender role influences, and that there should be some national guidance sent down to the local troops, after a few weeks, I received the answer: The local Girl Scout groups select the material covered. So, one GS troop could concentrate on some science, others could just do crafts and traditional gendered activities for girls. There is NO national guidance or structure.

This means that if a GS troop is started by women who want to instill housekeeping and mother roles, they will not expose their girls to these gender-forming issues that are prevalent in society--the ones that reinforce traditional patriarchy. Many just pass on the social skills and gender-roled backgrounds that they are familiar with. After this attempt to pass on this information to the GS hierarchy, with my daughters present, they lost an interest in joining their local GS troops.

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[crazycatlady]

5. was the Rutgers program "Ready to Run"?

I took that a few years ago and found it very valuable.

I'm a former Girl Scout (K-8th grade) and my best childhood memories are from Girl Scout camp. I can remember a poster in the council building (right up the street from my parents') saying "the first female president will have been a Girl Scout.' It meant something to me as a kid and still does.

[TheBlackAdder]

6. It was American Women & Politics, by Dr. Kelly Dittmar.

.

It was so good, it should be a staple course for all college freshmen.

It was an eye-opener for both the women and men who took the class, covering women's political movements from early America to present day. Towards the end of the course, there was a concentration on gendering and how it affects both women and men, and what was surprising is that, while the foundations were formed early on, they did not take full root until college. This was surprising, because college is supposed to be the environment of enlightenment, especially about gender, but the converse was shown.

.

[underpants]

2. Passing this along to a Girl Scout person I know.

Pretty cool.

[Gothmog]

3. As a former Cookie Dad, this makes me smile

[marble falls]

4. As a former Girl Scout dad, that doesn't suprise me but gives me great sarisfaction.

[SweetieD]

7. I was a girl scout.