Girl-focused spaces
As the world’s largest voluntary Movement dedicated to empowering girls and young women, Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting should be a space free from the bias, gender expectations and judgement girls can find in society, at school, or in their family. Creating girl-focused spaces for youth and adult members is essential to achieving the Girl Guide and Girl Scout Movement’s vision and mission. A world where all girls can thrive is a better world for everyone, and a world that everyone can actively working towards, regardless of their gender. Boys and men are also influenced by gender norms and expectations, and this is why the statements above are gender neutral. All genders can contribute to building a girl-focused space, and this is relevant and needed in both co-educational and girl-only settings.
Across our global Movement, learning experiences take place in both girl-only and coeducational settings. Some of our Member Organisations only admit girls and some are coeducational. What brings us together as the Girl Guide and Girl Scout Movement is that we are first and foremost For Her World: both girls-only and co-educational organisations have a role to play in fulfilling our mission and creating a space for girls in their context and organisational structure.
In girl-only spaces, girls and young women can feel free to be themselves away from a world of gender inequality, more confident to talk openly about issues that matter to them, take risks, and have adventures, free of judgement.
In co-educational spaces, members of all genders can learn from each other, how to support each other and challenge gender stereotypes – making sure everyone is on the journey to an equal world together.
Creating an empowering space for girls to grow and learn will look different in a girl-only or co-educational space, and it is important that we take this into account when designing and delivering learning experiences. Our responsibility as Girl Guide and Girl Scout organisations is to role model what an equal world could and should be.
We contribute towards our vision, “an equal world where all girls can thrive”, by tackling gender equality in society as a Movement, and tackling the impact of inequality on girls by consciously creating an equitable environment where girls and young women can thrive and take the lead, and a brave girl-centred space where they can explore these issues.