This year’s theme for the United Nations #IDG is ‘Girls’ Vision for the Future’

This started me thinking about what my vision of the future was when I was little.

What did I imagine I could BE when I got older?

On the eve of #InternationalDayoftheGirl Inspiring Girls International is once again celebrating with their #ThisLittleGirlIsMe campaign, asking the question..."What advice would you give to your younger self?" Well, not enough space here to put everything I want to say to that 8 year old me...but

Once upon a time…don’t all good stories start that way? I was a 40-year-old in a 4-year-old's shoes.  I had a lot, and I mean a lot! to say.  I wanted to fix everything and everyone. I wanted to redecorate every room I walked into and change the world overall.  I was never content with the status quo and could never figure out why… why… why…Very little has changed!

There were so many things that never made sense to me. Why were all the doctors men and the nurses women?  How come only boys went to the MathLab?    Why were all the girls put on different teams from the boys?  Why didn’t I ever see boys at ballet class? SO many questions!

I grew up at a time of huge change for women in this country. So much was happening and women were becoming more and more a part of the national conversation.  Yet, the pushback and backlash was huge. The messages were very conflicting.

Women could “Bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, and never let him forget he’s a man. Because I’m a Woman…W-O-M-A-N…”  The fact that I remember that advertising jingle pretty much sums up the media we consumed and the mixed messages we received as girls and women.  We will give you an inch…but don’t think about the mile.

I never once thought I couldn’t do it all or have it all.

I was going to go where I wanted, say what I wanted, do what I wanted…I was an 8-year-old Feminist!

I would soon discover, however, that the “real world” was not always in favor of opening a door for me, hearing my voice, or letting me join in.  So as too many young girls continue to experience today, the confidence and absolute sense of “I can do this” got chipped away as I encountered “Nos” and “Do Not Enter” signs.  That seedling of a little voice inside who said “You aren’t good enough” “You aren’t what they want.” “What are you doing here?” …always remained. While I never lost my belief in myself, I would always question whether others believed I could, and stubbornly, not always successfully, did what I could to “show them”.  But fear and self-doubt grew from that seedling and a sense of “what am I getting wrong?” and “No way can I do this” could stop me in my tracks at any moment.  I thought I had to not only climb the hill but carry that hill with me.

Life takes twists and turns, mountain climbs and cliff falls and along the way, I would design a brand that allowed me to create a character who could do and say and BE what I wanted for every girl. In many ways, my character Jane was little me!

The idea for This Girl Can! Change the World percolated as I walked through an overcrowded show floor eons ago at The Super Show. I was not seeing anything designed for or marketed to women and girls. This.a good 25  years after Billie Jean King took out Bobby Riggs,

I saw no positive representation or product identity for women and girls. So I jumped in. The plan was to reach all the little girls on soccer fields, courts, ball fields, tracks, ice rinks…and their moms and grandmoms too.

What began as a brand to fill a huge hole in a male-driven sporting goods industry quickly grew to a line to celebrate and cheer on all girls and women well beyond the field and the court.   I created a character with sass and gumption who could represent every girl with cartoon-esque wit and a “don’t let them tell you no” message.   Little girls needed -still need!- models and stories of Sheroes to inspire and help them see who they could become.

Life, the retail planet, and I all moved on in time.  If you weren’t a major you couldn’t play in the big leagues. My girl “Jane” had her sparkle time, but Jane and I were not about to be benched forever.

I never felt that I was finished or that the brand had fulfilled its reach… or its mission.  I knew what happened to young girls as they entered their tween years, they were falling off the confidence cliff. I have never lost my belief that every girl needs a cheering squad, that every girl needs to be able to see what is possible, and that every girl needs to be celebrated.

I wanted to ensure that all girls could have the confidence and unshakeable sense of self to never fall off that cliff and to always believe they could change the world, even if that world was just outside their front door.

In 2018 I attended an organizing event for a congressional candidate who would become the center of the “Squad”.  I knew she would be inspiring but what I did not anticipate was a crowded room filled with young women not yet of voting age who were there to make a difference, to support, to speak their stories, and to change their communities.  That night I knew Jane and I needed to get back to work!

According to the United Nations

• Over 120 million girls are out of school.

• 90 percent of adolescent girls do not use the internet in low-income countries.

• Globally, girls aged 5-14 spend 160 million more hours every day on unpaid domestic work than boys.

• 1 in 4 married/partnered adolescent girls aged 15-19 have experienced physical or sexual violence from an intimate partner at least once in their lifetime.

This Girl Can! Change the World relaunched on a mission…to believe in Every girl and help her know the confidence and permanent sense of self to allow her to understand in every moment, in every room, in front of any challenge or obstacle that-

• This Girl Can! Use Her Voice

• This Girl Can! Walk in anywhere she chooses,

• This Girl Can! Speak Her Mind,

• This Girl Can! Believe in her own power to realize her dreams…

• and Yes! This Girl Can! Change the world

On this #InternationalDayoftheGirl, and on every day, we want to support all girls to see what they can BE! This generation of girls is disproportionately impacted by a plethora of global crises from climate, global and regional conflict, poverty, violence, and the erosion of human rights and gender equality. Far too many girls are denied their basic human rights, impacting their freedom, their choices, and their futures.

It is our goal to partner with organizations around the globe working to ensure all girls are protected, supported, educated, empowered, and respected.

As the UN says so well,

”With the right support, resources, and opportunities, the potential of the world’s more than 1.1 billion girls is limitless. And when girls lead, the impact is immediate and wide-reaching: families, communities, and economies are all stronger, our future brighter.”

We need, to invest in girls-full stop.

We need to believe in every girl so she can believe in herself.

Ensuring she has role models, sees positive representation in media, and has access to mentors who can help her believe in who she Can! BE is essential.

We want to help foster girls' confidence,  and ensure their access to the education and security that will help them grow into amazing women who can change not only their own lives but their neighborhoods, their communities, and … their planet!

So what would I say to my younger 8-year-old Feminist self?

• Trust your dreams.

• Use your fears

• Know you will fall down, maybe a lot, and that’s OK-a few scrapes and bumps can open new ways of looking at challenges.

• Look in All Directions. Find That Other Way, Take That Other Path.

• Don’t get stuck in a "my way" vision-always be open and always listen and learn

• Believe in your right to fly!

• Don’t Be Afraid to Say Yes! Opportunities Can Appear From Anywhere at Anytime.

• Know You Just Have to Try to Climb that Hill...Not Carry It With You.

• Always remember Don’t Wish Upon A Star…Reach for One!

#IDG

#BelieveinEveryGirl

#ThisGirlCanChangetheWorld