Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) announced 24 new badges designed to help girls practice ambitious leadership in the crucial areas of automotive engineering, STEM career exploration, entrepreneurship, and civics, many of which remain male-dominated. In a year of unprecedented global change, our country’s need for strong, broad-minded, and decisive leadership has never been greater. Through new and existing programming, Girl Scouts equips the next generation of female change-makers with the breadth of knowledge and experiences they need to not only stand up for causes they care about but also take charge and do good for the world.

The new Girl Scout badges include badges in:

• Entrepreneur
• STEM Career Exploration
• Automotive Engineering
• Civics

Check out the new Girl Scout badge activity sampler.

With these badges girls will develop an entrepreneurial mindset as they engage in age-appropriate exercises to help them create and pitch a product or service that solves a problem. They’ll build their own business plan and think about topics like production, cost, profit, marketing, and competition. Three in four of today’s girls are interested in becoming an entrepreneurs, but more than half say they need more support in this area. These badges are designed to fill the gap and were funded by Susan Bulkeley Butler and designed in collaboration with VentureLab.

Badges:

• Daisy Toy Business Designer
• Brownie Budding Entrepreneur
• Junior Business Jumpstart
• Cadette Business Creator
• Senior Business Startup
• Ambassador Entrepreneur Accelerator

In these programs girls will explore their career interests and connect them to STEM fields; particularly computer science, nature/environmental science, engineering, design, health, and agriculture that can help them address the pressing issues of our time and change the world. The IF/THEN^® Collection, a free, downloadable digital asset library of real-life women in STEM, is an integral component of the badges. The dearth of women in STEM fields is well documented, but data shows that girls are more interested in a STEM career when they learn how they can use it to help people, demonstrating the value of Girl Scouts’ unique approach. These badges have been funded by IF/THEN, an initiative of Lyda Hill Philanthropies.

Badges:

• Brownie STEM Career Exploration
• Junior STEM Career Exploration
• Cadette STEM Career Exploration

Girls will learn about designing, engineering, and manufacturing vehicles, as well as the future of mobility. They design their own vehicles, test prototypes, learn about design thinking, create their own assembly line manufacturing process, and more. Only 13% of engineers are women, underscoring the need for these badges which will introduce more girls to the field. These badges have been funded by General Motors.

Badges:

• Daisy Design
• Daisy Engineering
• Daisy Manufacturing
• Brownie Design
• Brownie Engineering
• Brownie Manufacturing
• Junior Design
• Junior Engineering
• Junior Manufacturing

In these programs, girls will gain an in-depth understanding of how local, state, and federal government works, equipping them to be voters, activists, and even political leaders. Girls will research laws and how they’re created, voting, and the electoral college, the representation of women in government, and more. They will also research their own government officials and are encouraged to meet them. By learning how the government works, Girl Scouts are prepared to make the world a more equitable and inclusive place. Just 24% of eighth-graders are proficient in civics, and only two in five American adults can name the three branches of U.S. government, highlighting the need for these badges. These badges were funded by the Citi Foundation.

Badges:

• Daisy Democracy for Daisies
• Brownie Democracy for Brownies
• Junior Democracy for Juniors
• Cadette Democracy for Cadettes
• Senior Democracy for Seniors
• Ambassador Democracy for Ambassadors 

SOURCE: Girl Scouts of the USA via PR Newswire