Girls Equity and Empowerment Resource List

The websites below complement our report Leaning Out and offer useful programs, research, resources, and/or activities to promote girls’ and women’s equity and empowerment. Some of the descriptions listed below have been pulled from organizational websites.

Overview
For: Educators
Ages: Middle School and High School
Resource Type: Resource List

Related Research + Initiatives

Programs and Resources that Support Girls and Women

The Geena Davis Institute is a research-based organization working within the media and entertainment industry to improve gender balance, reduce stereotypes, and create diverse female characters in entertainment. Website includes lesson plans for addressing images of gender equality in schools, a video learning series designed to help students challenge gender stereotypes, and research studies on gender in the media.
Girls Inc. inspires girls to be strong, smart, and bold, providing more than 140,000 girls across the U.S. and Canada with experiences and solutions to the unique challenges girls face. Girls Inc. develops informal education programs, educates the media about critical issues facing girls, and teaches girls how to advocate for themselves and their communities. Website includes tips for parents as well as a section for girls.
Girls Leadership teaches girls the skills to know who they are, what they believe, and how to express it, empowering them to create change in their world. Website offers information on Girls Leadership programming across the country, a blog, parent education videos, and research.
Girls Write Now provides programs designed to provide creative and engaging opportunities for women of all ages in the New York City area. Programs include mentoring that matches girls with professional women writers, assistance helping girls navigate the college admissions process, and a reading series to showcase the city’s best teen writers.
Hardy Girls Healthy Women, a non-profit organization, primarily serving girls and women in the state of Maine, offers a series of programs and supports to empower women, as well as curricula and resources for girls.
The Representation Project inspires individuals and communities to challenge and overcome limiting stereotypes so that everyone, regardless of gender, race, class, age, sexual orientation or circumstance can fulfill their potential. Website includes links to films, campaigns, research, and strategies to promote awareness of and counter negative stereotypes.
Girls for Gender Equity (GGE) is committed to the physical, psychological, social, and economic development of girls and women. GGE provides programs, mostly serving young women in New York City, that develop strengths, skills, and self-sufficiency in girls and women. GGE also conducts organizing campaigns to achieve safety and equality in the communities in which girls and women live and work.
The Spark Movement is a girl-fueled, intergenerational activist organization working online to ignite an anti-racist gender justice movement. Website features a blog about women’s issues, a downloadable app about women in history, and a curriculum for educators.
A Mighty Girl offers recommendations and lists of books, toys, and movies aimed at raising smart, confident, and courageous girls. Website includes a section on parenting.
TrueChild helps connects race, class, and gender through “gender transformative” approaches that challenge gender norms and inequities. Website features research briefs about gender-related topics and tools for parents and educators.
In Girl Scouts, girls discover the fun, friendship, and power of girls together through field trips, sports programs, community service projects, cultural exchanges, and environmental activities that allow girls to grow courageous and strong. Girl Scouts offers programs for 2.8 million members across the U.S. and world, and conducts research on girls’ development.
Girls on the Run is a physical activity based youth development program for girls in 3rd to 8th grade that teaches life skills through interactive lessons and running games. The goal of the program is to unleash confidence through accomplishment while establishing a lifetime appreciation of health and fitness. Website features information about their U.S. and Canadian-based programs.
LeanIn.org, based on the book Lean In, and founded by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, encourages women to pursue their ambitions and to change the conversation from what they can’t do to what they can do. Lean In promotes women by building communities of support, offering library of lectures on topics like leadership and communication, and featuring a special section for men about promoting gender equality.
PBS Parenting has many resources for parents raising girls, including tips and strategies for building confidence, resolving relationship conflicts, and challenging stereotypes.
Teach a Girl to Lead, a project of the Center for American Women in Politics at Rutgers University, aims to inspire girls and young women to follow in the footsteps of women leaders. The website features a “teaching toolbox” with lesson plans, activities, and multimedia resources to help young women rethink leadership.
New Moon Media is a girls’ magazine and online community of girls, parents, and allies raising strong girls in an unequal world.
Smart Girls is a “home base” where many young men and women are able to express their concerns. Through “Call to Action” campaigns, girls are encouraged to volunteer, be more involved in the world they live in, and expand their worldview beyond their backyards.
Ban Bossy supports people to use social media to pledge to #banbossy. “Bossy” is word that often is used to describe strong women. The site features leadership tips for girls, parents, teachers, and other adults, and real stories of girls in leadership roles.

RESOURCES SPECIFICALLY FOR EDUCATORS OR PROGRAM LEADERS

Teaching Tolerance offers a wide range of classroom resources for educators. The “Gender Equity” section of their classroom resource page includes exercises on challenging stereotypes, female identity, gender expectations, and lessons about influential women throughout history.
Wrestling with Manhood is an educational program that pays attention to the popularity of professional wrestling among male youth, addressing its relationship to real-life violence. The film and accompanying curriculum encourages viewers to think about the enduring problems of men’s violence against women and bullying in our schools.
American Association of University Women (AAUW) advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy, and research. Their site offers resources and lesson plans on topics related to gender inequality including those on women’s history, suffrage, policies and law, and women in leadership.
This Gender Equity Activity Booklet, produced by the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, provides detailed, easy-to-use activities related to a wide range of gender equity issues. The guide also includes evaluation tools related to the exercises and student quizzes.
The Myra Sadker Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting equity in and beyond schools. The foundation offers awards to teachers interested in promoting gender equity in their classrooms. Website offers readings and a list of recommended websites.
National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education (NCWGE) is a nonprofit organization of more than 50 groups dedicated to improving educational opportunities for girls and women. Website provides updates on relevant federal education legislation and shares useful resources and NCWGE publications.
TeachUnicef offers lesson plans, videos, multimedia, and stories intended to raise student awareness of the importance of gender equality. Many materials have an international focus.
The 95-page guide, provided as part of a gender equality initiative by Drexel University, is full of classroom activities including class starters, classroom activities, and projects and performance opportunities.