About Girls Inc. LA

OUR GIRLS AND COMMUNITY

For all its success creating culture worldwide, LA is experiencing rising inequality, recently exacerbated by COVID. While touted as the era of personal possibility and female empowerment, intersecting systemic inequities are leaving behind far too many girls of color growing up in Los Angeles. Lack of resources, access to career pathways and opportunities are limiting their ability to thrive and achieve their full potential.

Girl’s confidence in STEM fields goes down by 30% between the ages of eight and 14 while boys are three times more likely to believe they would be successful as an engineer. 

By 5th grade, girls are half as active as boys in physical activities, leading to increased risk of long-term negative health impacts.

Despite equal interest in elementary school, by eighth grade girls are half as interested as boys in STEM careers, limiting their access to opportunities in tech. 

Post Girls Inc. LA programming, 80% of girls report they believe they can be good at STEM.

WHO WE SERVE

We serve girls (including youth identifying as female), 5-13 years old, living in under-resourced LA neighborhoods, facing intersecting systemic inequities that limit the resources and opportunities they need to succeed. In 2023, Girls Inc. LA will expand our services to high schools in order to serve girls, ages 14-18. 

The girls we serve are 100% girls of color and attend schools that are classified as “High” or “Highest” needs on the Student Equity Needs Index, a holistic measure that goes beyond just free and reduced lunch rates to look at the environmental and other community factors that impact students’ ability to learn and thrive.

51%⇡

Mental Health: In December, the Surgeon General issued a warning about the impact of the pandemic on youth mental health, including a 51% increase in suicidal ideation in girls in 2021.

5 YO

Dream Gap: Research at NYU found that starting at age five, many girls begin to develop self-limiting beliefs and think they're not as smart and capable as boys. They stop believing their gender can be anything.

29%

STEM Access: Women only make up 29% of the STEM workforce and only 3% of STEM CEOs.

 

“At Girls Inc., we believe that our girls are inherently strong and talented and that it is our role to help them tap into that strength and amplify their talents. We believe with the right systems of support - our girls will rise."


— Erin Ross, CEO of Girls Inc. of LA

OUR RESPONSE

Girls Inc. of Los Angeles’ model shifts the paradigm. We equip girls to defy limitations and stereotypes, focusing on tapping into their strengths, amplifying their talents and envisioning a positive future. 

Our focus is on helping girls rise through pro-girl results-oriented programs, events and advocacy centered on three primary areas: 

STRONG

Mind/body programs that encourage girls to make positive choices in regard to both their bodies
and socio-emotional well-being.

SMART

Foundational learning programs that spark curiosity, instill critical skills and nurture the ability to imagine and achieve a fulfilling life.

BOLD

Connected programs that foster sisterhood, self-knowledge, discovery of passion and self-expression to navigate the world with
confidence and emotional resilience.