At TEDxWomen at the Paley Center in LA this morning I was wowed–no easy feat for a presenter following a very early AM flight–by a presentation between 13-year-old Claire Sannini and Rachel Simmons about encouraging confidence in girls. (An audacious and important concept with cyberbullying, suicides, and teen pregnancy as rampant as they are.) The two talked about the Girls Leadership Institute, an organization Simmons co-founded to help girls discover their true and strong selves.
“[Our society] tells girls that they can be intelligent, but shouldn’t make others feel intimidated by their smarts,” Simmons said. “Yes, you can be active, but you better be sexy and skinny while you do it.” These messages don’t just impact girls social lives–they affect assertion and earnings in the workplace later in life.
Simmons stresses the importance of women helping girls strengthen their “inner resumes,” and Claire’s eloquence after participating in the teen leadership work is captivating. You can see their great collaborative talk in its entirety here. And while you’re at it, don’t dare miss V-Girl Busisiwe Mkhumbuzi’s reflections on raising girl consciousness and activism in South Africa.
