Today, the three million Girl Scouts of the U.S.A., including 20,000 in our own Great Valley Girl Scout Council, will celebrate the 80th anniversary of Girl Scouting. While Girl Scouting has always stayed in step with the times by offering programs that meet the needs and interests of girls, its basic premise has remained the same since Juliette Low began the first troop in Savannah, Ga.

"The Girl Comes First in Girl Scouting" is the latest slogan to be used in conveying that constant message. The most obvious meaning is that for those of us who devote our time and effort to Girl Scouting, our mission of helping girls develop their full potential should always guide our efforts. In a much larger sense, however, it refers to the fact that our organization provides an all-girl setting.

In recent years, women have become more prominent in fields that were almost exclusively male. As a lawyer, I have been a part of this trend. It would be easy to think that equity has been reached and that perhaps an all-girl organization is old fashioned. New studies find, however, that important gender differences still exist in areas from the attention received in classrooms to average salaries. Perhaps one of the most disturbing findings is the way in which girls' self esteem levels drop through the teen years in a way that boys' do not.

This information should not discourage us, but alert us to the fact that we must be very creative in finding ways to fulfill our objective and provide a setting in which girls can develop into self-confident women. It has been observed that while boys generally favor competition, girls favor cooperation. An atmosphere of competition in a mixed setting does not enhance girls' participation. Similarly, girls typically make ethical choices within a framework of caring for others while boys tend to have more absolute ideas concerning right and wrong.

These differences mean that, in order to flourish, girls need an environment without the intense competition of a mixed setting, in which their needs are valued above all. Within our program, girls can have greater opportunities to observe positive female role models, develop their abilities and skills and gain the experience of holding leadership roles. We can give girls the freedom of trying an amazing variety of activities without giving a thought to what the boys might think.

The benefits of the all-girl experience seem to be just as important as ever, if not more so, in view of the many pressures on our girls today. Girl Scouting continues to offer a very special environment in which tomorrow's women can prepare for a fulfilling future.

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