"It's Her Future, Do the Math"
Ad Council Features Girls Go Tech

	Ads encourage adults to nurture girls' interest in technology.

Girl Scouts of the USA and the Ad Council partner to tell the public about the importance of developing math, science, and technology skills in girls.

Ads encourage adults to nurture girls' interest in technology.

According to the National Science Foundation, women represent 46 percent of the nation's total workforce but hold only 25 percent of the technology jobs, and only 10 percent of the top tech jobs. Despite their success in many areas, many women choose traditionally "female" occupations, the result of patterns that start as early as elementary school.

To reverse this trend, Girl Scouts of the USA and the Ad Council have partnered to provide a new Public Service Advertisement (PSA) campaign entitled "Girls Go Tech." The campaign encourages girls to develop an early interest in math, science and technology, and to maintain that interest as they mature, ensuring a more diverse, dynamic, and productive workforce.

The Ad Council is a not-for-profit organization that produces award-winning advertising campaigns with slogans like "Take a Bite Out of Crime" and "A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste."

Call to Action

Created pro bono by The Kaplan Thaler Group, the television, radio and print PSAs now airing constitute a national call to action directed at parents and caregivers to empower girls to bridge the techno-gender divide.

The PSAs highlight the fact that by the age of 12, most girls lose interest in math and science and as a result, their chance at many future jobs.

The "Girls Go Tech" campaign will reach tens of millions of consumers, showing that Girl Scouting is not just about camping, cookies and crafts, but actively addresses relevant issues like technology education for girls.

Why Is the Sky Blue?

The television and radio PSAs depict humorous interactions between parents and young girls discussing math, science, and technology facts. In one amusing TV spot, a young girl and her father discuss why the sky is blue. When Dad suggests Nature wanted to match her pretty eyes, his daughter promptly corrects him: The sky is blue, she says, because colors have wavelengths diffused by oxygen and nitrogen, and as the shortest wavelength, blue is diffused up to 10 times more than other colors. She then reveals that she learned this from her mother.

Charlotte's Web Site

The print ads, too, depict a young girl with an interest in math, science, and technology. She is reading a book entitled Charlotte's Web Site. All the PSAs direct viewers, listeners, and readers to visit www.girlsgotech.org for more ideas about how to engage young girls in these important areas. The PSA's end with a strong tagline: "It's her future. Do the math."

Adapted from LEADER, Spring 2003. © Girl Scouts of the United States of America.