The Girl Scouts announced this week that they had introduced a host of new badges for things like “cybersecurity” and “space science” along with expensive books ($5.00 each, the Boy Scouts allow requirements to be accessed free of charge) to help you earn them. Undoubtedly this effort aims to keep girls interested after the Boy Scouts announced that girls would be welcome in all of their programs. Indeed, the end of their press release seems a little defensive about the program saying, “There’s just no doubt about it: Girl Scouts is the single BEST place for girls.”
So, what is the organization afraid of even with their host of new badges? Well, as a former Girl Scout and a Venture Scout (the co-ed Boy Scout program for young people aged 14-20), I can tell you that the attraction to Boy Scout programs for girls goes well beyond what the Girl Scouts can offer up with a few new badges.
For starters, the way that Girl Scouts is organized is fundamentally different from Boy Scouts. For all of its claims to being “girl-led,” even in high school, the meetings and outings are run by parents. Contrast that with a program like the Boy Scouts Venturing Program where the highest position in each crew, to organizational unit, and the entire organization is a young person, not an “adult.” Young people are expected to not just show up, but to take charge.
On another organizational note, Girl Scouts don’t really have the same sort of rank advancement that the Boy Scouts are known for. Instead of having to earn rank, as you get older as a girl scout you gain rank simply by moving to a new grade (they call it “bridging”), no board of review required. This means that girls are also divided by grade levels in a way that Cub Scout packs or Boy Scout troops are not. For this reason, boys and now girls are able to learn from their peers and, eventually, gain leadership skills themselves. Whereas Girl Scouts, limited to interaction mostly with girls their own age, never get the same leadership experience or opportunity to see older girls in such leadership roles.
When it comes to programming, many girls left Girl Scouts for the same reason that I did: no camping. Now I’m sure that some Girl Scouts do go camping and gain outdoor skills, but its undeniable that within the program, there is no equivalent to the experiences offered by the Boy Scout high adventure bases such as trekking in the New Mexican desert at Philmont or canoeing boundary waters in Minnesota at Northern Tier.
Moreover, the emphasis in Girl Scouts based on badges and their requirements is clearly less focused on outdoor skills. For example, to earn the “level 5” camping skills badge, girls are told to practice orienteering and the paperwork specifies that such orienteering practice could be done “even in a shopping mall.” Likewise, girls must merely show they can pitch a tent rather than having to sleep in it and must only take two camping trips for two nights each — which the paperwork does not prohibit from being in a cabin. The Boy Scout camping merit badge instead specifies that orienteering must take place outside and that at least 20 nights must be spent under the sky or in a “tent that you have pitched.”
These are issues that will continue to push girls towards Boy Scout programs and that can’t be fixed by introducing new badges. If the Girl Scouts want to compete for girls, they will need to truly offer better programming.
Turns out, the free market is good for scouting too.
