Change It Up!
What Girls Say About Redefining Leadership

By Judy Schoenberg, Ed.M., Senior Researcher; Kimberlee Salmond, M.P.P., Senior Researcher; Paula Fleshman, M.S., Research and Evaluation Analyst. (New York, N.Y.: Girl Scouts of the USA, 2008). (Executive Summary, 52 pp.)

Girl Scouts has always been about leadership. As we move further into the 21st century, it is imperative to ask and explore questions that address girls' attitudes, perceptions, behaviors, and experiences of leadership. What kind of leadership does this generation of girls aspire to and connect with? What do we need to know in order to support the next generation of girl and women leaders? Will the leadership experiences of girls today translate into greater leadership roles for them tomorrow?

Conducted in conjunction with Fluent, a New York-based research firm, and Girl Scouts of the USA, Change It Up! What Girls Say About Redefining Leadership presents findings from a national study of over 4,000 girls and boys on leadership with answers to these very same questions and more. The findings bring to light how girls and boys define leadership; their experiences, aspirations, and fears with respect to leadership; and, predictors of leadership aspiration. Gender, race/ethnicity, age, and income are explored in their relationship to girls' and boys' leadership aspirations, experiences, and identities.

From the evidence of this report, girls are clearly saying that we need to "change it up" in how we define and think about leadership.

To find out more about why and how girls want and need to "change it up," order or download the executive summary of the study in English and Spanish below. You may also download supplemental materials derived from the findings in English and Spanish, also.