Girl Power For 161 years, Girls Inc. has been helping break down barriers to empower young women. By Katie Rodriguez G irls Inc., a nonprofit that works to empower 130,000 girls nationwide (and in Canada) began 161 years ago in Waterbury, Connecticut. Originally the Girls Club of America, their aim, at that time, was to help young women during the Industrial Revolution who were moving from rural areas to work in factories or textile mills. Of course, the organization has evolved with the times, working to close the opportunity gap for young women through a variety of programs that tackle structural barriers—poverty, sexism, access to leadership roles— through mentorship and education. “We provide a safe environment where they can be themselves as girls,” says Patty Fernandez, executive director of the Central Coast chapter, which serves Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties. In practice, the organization’s tagline—“inspiring all girls to be strong, smart and bold”—looks different depending on the program, the age group, the school and the city. Girls Inc. of the Central Coast operates at 41 school sites across 10 cities, offering programs that help girls with things such as financial literacy, job and résumé preparation, stress management and public speaking. Say a girl expresses interest in a path in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math). If she is younger, she might participate in “Operation SMART,” getting to experiment by building projects, coding games or exploring robotics. For high schoolers, Girls Inc. might bring in a woman professional working in a STEM career (an engineer, a doctor or a marine biologist) to speak or serve as a mentor. For girls as young as 8 years old, the nonprofit often works with mothers and their daughters on things like communication skills, reproductive health and encouragement of academic curiosity. For girls up to 18, programs can focus on academic planning, career goals and media literacy. In recent years, nursing, teaching and law have been popular career paths participants have expressed interest in. Fernandez adds that understanding how social media shapes self-perception and self-esteem has become an increasingly popular topic. Girls Inc. creates space for girls to discuss the role social media plays in their lives. “We want to provide information to these young women about what choices they have in life,” Fernandez says. Girls Inc. intern Melissa Duenez-Ramirez (left) guides a seventh-grader in the process of building a battery-powered car. It’s part of a hands-on engineering challenge in which the girls design, build and race their creations. 88 Monterey County GIVES! 2025 mcgives.com
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