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)

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; how leadership impacts girls of this generation; and, the implications of their current behaviors and attitudes on their future lives. Will the leadership experiences of girls today translate into greater leadership roles for them tomorrow? 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?

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: how they define it; their experiences, failures, and successes with leadership experimentation; their aspirations, hopes, and fears; the effect of gender biases and stereotypes; 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," download the executive summary of the study below. You may also download the press release and a fact sheet about Girl Scouts of the USA.