2020 for Girls
Why I’m taking a “gap year” to listen and learn about the challenges girls face globally, and explore ways we might further empower girls through design
If you ask a group of middle-school girls to brainstorm a list of problems in the world, chances are, they won’t shy away — they’ll immediately put pen to paper.
From bullying and suicide to LGBTQ discrimination, domestic abuse, water pollution, and the opioid crisis, I think you’d be amazed by the clarity, maturity, and awareness that so many 11, 12, and 13-year-olds bring to the table. At the same time, you might feel your stomach twist — the issues are so obvious and ubiquitous that an 11-year-old can point out dozens in minutes.
We run this exercise as part of our programming at Girl Possible, a 501(c)(3) non-profit that I co-founded in 2014 to empower girls to become leaders of social change through design thinking.
Over the past 5 years, we’ve explored several pathways for impacting girls — we’ve road-tripped across the US in an RV to teach design thinking & leadership workshops for 1500 girls across 32 states; launched a superhero-themed girl power summer camp; and developed teaching toolkits to scale our curriculum to reach thousands of girls across 15 countries.
The more we do, the more we realize is still left to be done — like any juicy design challenge. The more we learn, the greater my curiosity swells to better understand the sea of challenges girls face globally — such as those related to contraception, “period poverty,” sex trafficking, early pregnancy and marriage, reproductive health education, and access to higher education. The more I want to understand how it’s 2019 and millions of girls around the world are STILL fighting to go to school and access basic health care, and what more we can possibly do about this.
In her NYT best-selling book Moment of Lift, Melinda Gates writes, “If you want to lift up humanity, empower women. It is the most comprehensive, pervasive, high-leverage investment you can make in human beings.”
Words can’t express how proud I am to be part of this movement, and how ready and eager I am to devote myself even more fully to this cause.
That’s why I’m planning 2020 for Girls — a “gap year” where I’ll spend 12 months exploring the challenges girls face and understanding potential ways we might design a better future for girls globally.
Like a Masters in Design for Girls Empowerment—with a concentration in sexual health education, contraception, periods, and leadership development. From January to December 2020, I’m excited to:
- Listen and learn from extraordinary people who bring a unique perspective to how we might empower girls. Go broad and talk to people from all kinds of backgrounds—like artists, life coaches, filmmakers, middle school teachers, self-defense instructors, and writers—to get inspired about how we can empower girls in new ways. Seek out a highly diverse group to learn from with regards to race and ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation, socio-economic status, and more.
- Collaborate with non-profits, schools, and companies on design x business challenges to do tangible, hands-on work that moves the needle. Embed with these teams whenever possible. Donate my time in whatever way, shape, or form best supports them in achieving their goals, while also working 1:1 with girls and communities on the ground.
- Teach and share design thinking methods with organizations and innovators in this space, in the hopes of bringing a creative new lens to their work and imagining new ways of empowering girls together.
- Immerse in diverse communities and cultures where the mindsets, rituals, and experiences of girls might look and feel radically different—such as in India, Africa, and the Philippines.
- Attend conferences, events, and other gatherings to engage in pressing topics, new research, and key issues in this space.
- Conduct in-depth research into the challenges that girls face globally through books, documentaries, podcasts, and other media.
- Blog about everything that I’m learning, observing, and doing to share this journey with a wider audience. Celebrate and shine a light on the incredible work that so many people and organizations are already doing to impact girls. Amplify new voices and capture untold stories. #2020forgirls
I can’t wait for the stories, moments, insights, and people that this project will unlock — which is all impossible to predict at this point but fantastic to dream about.
“Empowering girls” can look like a million different things. For now, the scope of this project is intentionally broad (spanning sexual health education, contraception, periods, sex trafficking, and more) so that I can figure out over time where the right places might be to zero in.
At the end of the year, I might create a pop-up exhibit, launch an event series, publish a book, or do something totally different to share the journey. My hope is to find a creative way to make the year’s learnings actionable so that we all might have new tools, design methods, and ideas for how we might continue to impact girls together.
This project carries deep personal meaning for me. In some ways, it’s everything I’ve been working up the courage to do — with 5 years spent working with girls in the non-profit sector; 4 years at Stanford studying how to design for social impact; and 3 years at IDEO building transferable skills in marketing, business, and product. Even so, it’s a leap into vast, unknown territory, an unpredictable journey, and a trek I’ll be doing mostly alone — which is terrifying.
Personally, it feels so right. I can’t wait to crash past my comfort zone, gain global perspective into a cause that I care deeply about, and give back with my whole self, fully immersed.
While a journey like this certainly isn’t for everyone, I recognize that I’m fortunate to be able to make this decision about my life and career in the first place. This year will give me the permission to learn, feel, see, and experience so much that there are fireworks in my brain just thinking about it. Through inevitable soul-searching along the way, I hope to find a bit more clarity into my “purpose” — why I’m here, what I’m doing, and how I can continue to shape a meaningful life and career moving forward. I can only pray to be able to impact these people and communities as much as I know they will change me for the better.
What’s next?
Thank you so much to those who have been a sounding board, thought partner, and collaborator so far. If you’re open to it, here’s how you can get involved and support this work, too:
- Share your advice, ideas, or connections! Currently I’m knee-deep in research and connecting with organizations in Uganda, South Africa, India, the Philippines, and several US cities to explore what it might look like to collaborate next year. But I have a lot to learn, and I know I’m only scratching the surface. What inspires YOU in the space of empowering girls? Are you connected to any non-profits, schools, or organizations impacting girls? How about friends, colleagues, companies, or grants that might be able to support? Do you know anyone who has done something like this before? I’m all ears — please connect me!
- Join the team! I’m looking to bring together a group of writers, designers, activists, and gap year veterans to help supercharge this work. If this sounds like you, let me know.
- Follow the journey. If you’d be interested in receiving updates about how the roadmap is unfolding, sign up here! Feel free to also share this Medium piece with any friends and colleagues who might be interested.
Thank you so much for taking the time to learn about this work. I sincerely hope that you can be part of this journey and look forward to what we might discover together. Onwards!
