When it comes to advice about their futures, girls often hear adults tell them: “Do what makes you happy.” Yet that well-intentioned advice can be undermined by the fact that most middle school girls are surrounded by messages in the media and their communities that dissuade them from leadership positions, especially in science, technology, and math.
A new study by Simmons College finds that Girl Scouts are more self-confident and have broader career aspirations — less limited by gender stereotypes — than girls who are not involved in similar organizations. The report, done in conjunction with the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts, shows that organizations that serve girls boost their confidence and should be part of a larger effort to improve women’s participation in top roles in society.
Comments
This line of thinking is missing a whole big part of the picture. Yes, it is good to foster confident women. Yes, Girl Scouts is a fabulous organization for helping to achieve that goal. But what about the assumption that the STEM fields contribute more to society than fields such as social work, music, teaching, art, and other "softer" fields of pursuit, and as such deserve so much more pay? What about the assumption that a doc who has a very specific and time-limited task of sawing a bone should get paid 4x more than a doc that contends with the vagaries of family practice, or the chaos of pediatrics? What about the catastrophic and grossly distorted assumption that a CEO of any company should be paid a factor of 50x what the other people are paid who actually accomplish the tasks of the business???
The line of thinking represented in this study has already capitulated to a damaging line of assumptions in aspiring to place women in STEM professions, and aspiring to place women in the category of the 1% wage earners. Rather, they should look at the value of the full range of contributions different pursuits offer to society, and looking for more equitable compensation for everyone's contributions.