Girls'Day - Future Prospects for Girls

Every year in April technical enterprises, enterprises with technical departments and technical training facilities, universities, and research centres are invited to organise an open day for girls – Girls'Day. Girls'Day – 'Future Prospects for Girls' initiated a large campaign in which a wide range of professions and activities is presented to girls of 10 years upwards. The vocational choices of girls are influenced in a very positive way. For companies, Girls’Day has evolved as an important instrument of their recruitment policy. On the 22nd of April 2010 the successful project celebrated its 10th jubilee!

The next Girls’Day will take place on April 26th 2012!

Girls’Day encourages the surroundings of the young women - i.e. families, school, media and employers - to participate in the campaign and change their common attitudes towards vocational orientation. Information material, an all-embracing interactive website and an individual advisory service provide support for all target groups. The campaign includes a scientific evaluation.

By actively taking part in Girls’Day, girls shall be particularly motivated and encouraged to seize their career options and to decide in favour of a qualified vocational training or degree. Subsequently, they choose an occupation even in professional fields that are presently not typically female. Being a nationwide event taking place at a uniform date, Girls’Day combines regionally limited initiatives to achieve far-reaching effects unprecedented so far.

• An increasing number of enterprises and organisations take part every year and events for more than one million girls have been hosted.
• A continually expanding network of regional working groups is involved in Girls’Day. Since 2003 the number of working groups composed of activists from chambers, employer’s associations, labour unions, equality offices, employment agencies and other institutions has more than doubled since 2003.

Scientific evaluation:

• More than 90 percent of the girls assess Girls’Day as „good“ or „very good“. 46 percent got to know professions in technology, sciences, IT and trade which they find interesting. 51 percent would like to gather specific information on these professions during an internship.
• More than 90 percent of the girls assess Girls’Day as „good“ or „very good“. 46 percent got to know professions in technology, sciences, IT and trade which they find interesting. 51 percent would like to gather specific information on these professions during an internship.
• One third of the girls polled would like to work in the ICT area.
• Almost 10 percent of the organisations have employed young women who got acquainted with the respective organisation through Girls’Day. Regarding the young age of the girls, this is a considerable proportion. More and more young women who participated in Girls’Day start their future jobs in a profession that is related to techno-logy. You can find portraits of girls@work on www.girls-day.de
• The girls get more and more active in their search for a Girls’Day place: In 2010, more than 60% found their place by themselves or with a friend, often by using the campaign’s map on the Girls’Day homepage. The number of open events is increasing, exclusive “daughters’ days” recede.
• The evaluation shows an increasing sensibility for gender-specific aspects of vocational orientation in companies, organisations and schools which take part several times.
• If participating repeatedly, organisations can expect a positive influence on their organisational culture and a raised awareness for equality issues.
• Girls’Day has a positive influence on the image of technology related professions and yields realistic estimations on behalf of employment outlook, job contents, and basic conditions.
• Scientific publication of evaluation results from 2002 to 2010 and further publications in the form of scientific papers.

Media resonance and awards:

• Approx. 3.500 extensive reports in the print media, approx. 4.200 online articles, over 250 TV reports and more than 200 radio features are published every year. This corresponds to an equivalent media value of 11.700.000 €.
• Girls’Day – Future Prospects for Girls has been nominated for the „Politics Award 2006“ in the category „Campaigns of Societal Institutions“. In the national action plan of the UNESCO Girls’Day is distinguished as an official procedure of the United Nations Decade “Education for Sustainable Development” (2005-2014).

Homepage www.girls-day.de

• more than 157 million (from March 2001 up till and including July 2011)Target groups: Girls from grade 5 to 10, teachers, employers and employees, parents, organizations, and media.
• Service: annual appeal across the nation to participate in Girls‘Day; map of Girls’Day events; nationwide database; vocational orientation, information for and about organizers and regional working groups, newsletter.

Special highlights and activities:

• Girls’Day calendar; Vision 2027: It is the first contest of technical creativity for girls; Online game Girls’Planet: Girls’Planet is the first game that provides vocational orientation in science and technology for girls; Girls’Day film: DVD with videos for schools, companies and organisations; D21 Girls’Day contest for schools; Girls’Day song contest. 2006 the winner songs were published on CD; MINT for you: download a career-choice-flyer for girls on www.girls-day.de

International Girls’Day:

• Girls' Day arouses great interest in Europe and beyond. At international conferences in Cairo, Paris, Seoul and Prague, the concept was introduced as a best practice model. 2011 a government delegation from Kyrgyzstan visited the German Girls'Day. Within the EU research project UPDATE that improves the technology education the Girls'Day has been announced at an European level. Girls’Day is also the subject of an Australian research project made ​​possible by the Goethe-Institut.
• According to the German model, a Girls’Day is organised in ten other European countries: in Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Poland, Spain, Kosovo, Czech Republic, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Cross-border activities are realized with Austria, Luxembourg, Belgium, Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland.

Support and cooperation:

The project is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, the Confederation of German Employer’s Associations (BDA), the German Confederation of Trade Unions (DGB), the Federal Employment Agency (BA), the German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK), the Federation of German Industries (BDI), the German Confederation of skilled Crafts (ZDH) and the Initiative D21. In cooperation with the nationwide coordination office, they form a supervising board for ‘Girls’Day – Future Prospects for Girls’. The National Parents' Council is represented as a standing guest.

The project 'Girls’Day – Future Prospects for Girls' is funded by grants from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth and the European Social Fund.