Empowering girls Archives - Page 13 of 33 - Canadian Women's Foundation

Where Have all the Women Engineers Gone?

Where Have all the Women Engineers Gone?

Carly Friesen2017-12-19T16:26:34+00:00August 1, 2017|Empowering girls|

This post has been edited and was originally published on CarlyFriesen.com

I was, as Britney Spears would put it, not a girl, not yet a woman, when I excitedly started my first year of Engineering at the University of Guelph. I thought I was going to become an engineer, change the world, and bust through the glass ceiling Wonder Woman style. I had absolutely no doubts in my mind that I could and would do it.

As time passed, I started to wonder how thick this glass ceiling really was. With each year I began to see gender come into play more and more.

How to Talk to your Child about Gender

How to Talk to your Child about Gender

Julia Gonsalves2023-06-12T18:44:15+00:00July 26, 2017|Empowering girls, How to, SHE Magazine|

This story was originally published in the Spring 2016 issue of SHE Magazine.

“Are you having a boy or a girl?”

I wonder how much longer we’ll ask expectant parents this question. Maybe instead we should start asking ourselves why assigning a gender at birth is so important to us.

More and more young people in Canada are starting to express their gender in unique ways that go beyond the masculine/feminine binary. As parents, it is critical that we respond with love, curiosity, and an open mind.

Effective Empowerment: Strategies for Young Girls with Disabilities

Effective Empowerment: Strategies for Young Girls with Disabilities

Ilanna Mandel2017-12-19T16:27:15+00:00July 11, 2017|Empowering girls, How to|

The word ‘empowerment’ has been popular for many years. In Effective Empowerment: Strategies for Accessible Education, I note that empowerment is “…based on the idea that giving people skills, resources, opportunities, and strategies will enable them to be accountable for their own actions, and will contribute to their independence, competence, and satisfaction.”

When it comes to disabled girls ages 8-12, the challenges they face in reaching empowerment are often the same issues that their non-disabled peers face. However, they also face their own specific hurdles.

Confidence is Crucial

Confidence is Crucial

Beth Malcolm2017-12-19T16:27:49+00:00June 28, 2017|Corporate, Empowering girls|

This is the sixth post in the Confidence Stories series in partnership with Always®. Confidence Stories feature stories, tips and ideas to support girls, build their confidence, and encourage them to Keep Playing #LikeAGirl.

Most girls start out strong in life: they score higher than boys in reading and writing, they tend to make friends more easily, and they have stronger verbal skills. However, as they approach adolescence, many girls start to struggle.

Research shows that only 14% of girls in Grade 10 feel confident, yet confidence is at the core of a number of positive outcomes for girls, including higher grades, better physical health, more career choices, and higher earning potential.

When a girl feels confident, she is also more likely to ask for help, to have the strength to resist peer pressure, to cope better with conflict and other problems, and to not blame herself if she is assaulted.

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