Katie Wheeler, former Executive Director of Girls' Coalition of Greater Boston

Girls Need Girls

The Girls’ Coalition of Greater Boston recently released its much-anticipated report Where Are the Girls? The State of Girls’ Programming in Greater Boston, an analysis of the status of programming, philanthropy, and research related to girls. The research came about because of increasing distress about the status and well-being of girls, growing concern among girl-serving agencies and advocacy groups about a backlash against girls, and an obvious shift away from girls-only programs and a return to coeducation without attention to girls’ needs. Among the report’s findings:

  • The number of cases of teen prostitution reported in the first nine months of 2005 is 12 times that of all cases reported in 2003.
  • Females are 51% of the population but only 39% of the youth participants in Boston’s out-of-school time programs.
  • Only 6% of philanthropic dollars go to girls-only programs, despite evidence that single-sex programs offer girls unique and important experiences.

Where Are the Girls? examines the needs of girls, the overall effectiveness of the current system, and existing gaps. It highlights how girls in the Greater Boston area are significantly underserved by current out-of-school time programs and that, for the most part, girls programming varies only slightly from programs for boys - a reality which shortchanges the leadership potential and social and intellectual development of thousands of girls. Girls who do enroll in programs often have an experience that is qualitatively different from that of their male peers. Based on cumulative evidence, the report concludes that girls are best served in gender-sensitive programs that pay explicit attention to gender as well as to race, culture, and other aspects of their lives.

The report also sites the gradual decrease in funding for girl-specific programs. Both the number of coed agencies and the financial support of coed agencies significantly exceed those of single-sex organizations. Nationally, for example, there are only two Big Sister agencies, compared to 450 Big Brother Big Sister organizations and there are three times as many Boys & Girls Clubs as Girls Incorporated sites, with the coed agencies having an average of five times more dollars per site. Locally, several philanthropies have demonstrated a strong commitment to girls (such as the United Way of Massachusetts Bay’s groundbreaking initiative Today’s Girls . . . Tomorrow’s Leaders). However, others that did focus on girls have shifted their focus away from girls in recent years, resulting in increased challenges to secure funding for girls’ programs. In addition, the study highlights the lack of comprehensive information on girls, such as data that look at race, age, or sexual orientation as well as gender--yet another challenge to adequately assessing and meeting requirements for successful girls’ programming.

The research and recommendations in Where Are the Girls? illuminate the critical need for all youth programs—as well as philanthropic, political, and research institutions—to pay more attention to gender when working with youth, delegating resources, assessing needs, or evaluating successes. In an effort to emphasize girls’ strengths and encourage adults to take proactive steps in supporting girls’ healthy development, the report details guiding principles and key elements of gender-sensitive programming. These principles are applicable in both single-sex and coeducational settings and include:

  1. Needs assessment to determine the specific requirements of potential program participants
  2. Safe, supportive spaces where girls can talk freely about issues that concern them and experiment with new skill-building activities
  3. Shared responsibility and power so that girls are, for example, involved in program planning and evaluation
  4. Mentoring relationships with adults who both reflect and expand girls’ life experiences
  5. Family and community involvement
  6. Cultural appreciation and critique
  7. Opportunities for new learning, particularly in traditionally male-dominated activities
  8. Collaboration with other gender-sensitive programs
  9. Gender sensitivity and diversity training for staff and youth
  10. Adequate funding for program implementation and evaluation

The report lays out recommendations to researchers, policymakers, funders, and programmers on how to improve girls’ lives by strengthening available programming.

Recommendations to researchers:
  • Initiate comparison studies of gender-sensitive and gender-neutral youth programming, to examine the effects on participating youth
  • Develop gender-specific research tools to assess girls’ needs and the impact of programs
  • Collect and analyze data that look at gender issues over time, that compare girls to boys, and that examine the intersection of gender and other variables such as race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and sexual orientation

Recommendations to policymakers:

  • Keep girls on the policy agenda
  • Provide opportunities for girls and their adult advocates to meet with legislators
  • Encourage the collection of data by gender
Recommendations to funders:
  • Create gender- and/or girl-specific funding initiatives (and collaborations)
  • Highlight gender and the need for gender-sensitive programs in requests for proposals from youth programs
  • Provide funds for evaluation, especially participatory evaluation involving input from girls
  • Provide funds for professional development (e.g., youth-worker certification, ongoing gender-sensitivity training)

Recommendations to coed and single-sex girls’ programmers:

  • Reach out to underserved groups of girls (e.g., immigrant, sexually exploited, lesbian/bisexual/ transgender, court involved)
  • Incorporate elements of gender-sensitive programming in design, practice, and evaluation
  • Collect data by gender and use gender-specific research tools to assess girls’ needs and the impact of programs
  • Provide ongoing opportunities for staff and youth training on gender sensitivity and diversity

Over the next year, the Girls’ Coalition will be working to fulfill the report’s recommendations. As one Coalition member noted recently, “In terms of girls, Where Are the Girls? informs us not of where we are, but of where we are not.” There is much work to be done, and Where Are the Girls? challenges girls’ adult advocates to translate the recommendations into definable actions with achievable ends. How we act on the findings, and how we collaborate to support girls, will bring the report to life and give it lasting impact. Working together, we can reverse the existing legacy of disparity.

Katie Wheeler was the first executive director of the Girls’ Coalition of Greater Boston and the primary author of its recently released report, Where Are the Girls? The State of Girls’ Programming in Greater Boston. Currently she serves as a consultant to the organization.

The Girls' Coalition of Greater Boston is a member-driven consortium dedicated to helping individuals and organizations meet the needs of girls. The Coalition coordinates networking, education, and advocacy events focused on girls, which are open to members and the public. Its trainings and resources increase the skills, knowledge, and connections of adults so that they can better support and empower girls. To learn more about the Coalition or to download a copy of Where Are the Girls?, visit http://www.girlscoalition.org/resources/Wherearethegirlsreport.asp.