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How Young Women Grow and Lead

Thu, June 16, 1:40 to 2:45pm, Richmond Building, University of Portsmouth, RB 2.03

Short Description

How can young women be supported to step up to provide leadership in their diverse communities? While historically, young people have not been given a voice in the development of leadership programs, young women across the world have been leading environmental, anti-sexism, anti-racism, and other social movements. This paper shares the findings of a literature review and research of programs from across the globe which are working with young women, along a gender expansive spectrum, to shape leadership development with new emphases. Preliminary findings reveal incorporation of theories and implementation elements that respond to the multiple marginalizations many young women face.

Detailed Abstract

Instead of a loss of voice, during the transition from child to adult, a new generation of girl’s leadership development programs are employing the experiential awareness and maturing expertise of the youth they serve. Psychologists have demonstrated how adolescence is a time when girls often become aware of the silencing of their voice (Gilligan, 1993). "Unable to hear themselves in dominant culture discourses, they experience conflict between what they feel themselves to know & experience, on the one hand, and what socio-cultural norms permit them to express outwardly, on the other" (O’Neil, 2015, p. 7).

It is also a time of distinction in gender role development, especially in relation to one’s identity in the world. Research and grey literature demonstrate a correlation between a young person’s development of social awareness and the cultivation of personal identity at this point in life (Hoyt & Kennedy, 2008). This connection between the internal and external make adolescence a prime moment in a young woman’s life to connect with resources to unravel mixed messages from society. Programs highlighting the exploration of characteristics of leading - versus automatically adopting traditional leadership qualities - are also part of this new generation of youth offerings.

Young people are personally witnessing and being subjected to the impact of othering through race, ethnicity, gender identities, sexuality, and other discriminatory factors at a heightened level. They are subjugated to acts and images of hatred like no other generation since the invention of social media and all-the-time information (Oksanen et al., 2014). Curriculum developers and program leaders are seeking to support young women to navigate these pressures.

Through a review of literary sources in the fields of psychology, social work, feminism, and leadership, this session illustrates key components being implemented in a new generation of leadership programming for young women. The following of traditional leadership theories is being replaced with a multi-contextual lens and cultural considerations. Guiding principles are responsive to and mindful of the multiple marginalizations young woman may face. Tilton (2009) recognizes young women need “to know how to cross-over culturally, but we make it clear it's not because their culture is wrong." These are crucial framing points in this evolving field of enacting leadership.

Key components found in global youth programs, that are raising young people’s awareness about their inner most selves and the impact they can enact on the world around them, will be highlighted in this session. Evolving times call for a reconsideration of reinforcing a youth’s strengths rather than a belief in this time as an “inevitable so-called storm” (Lerner et al., 2005) of stress and uncertainty.

Empirical research demonstrates innovation in leadership development programming for girls. For example,
• drawing on the wakefulness and expertise youth already possess, such as Lerner’s (2005) Positive Youth Development model.
• emphasizing wholeness over brokenness in the individual or the culture from which they come.
• “critical race feminism” (Clonan-Roy, et al., 2016).
• guidance highlighting a young woman’s innate nature to work collectively and
• to engage the energy of peers and adult allies as an asset (Clonan-Roy et al., 2016; Garvin, 2019; Jacobs, 2017; O’Neil et al., 2015).

The innovation youth possess is instrumental in the pioneering of leadership programs that are “socially and discursively constructed” (Schedlitzki & Edwards, 2014 p. 7). Youth are now providing input into the adoption and exploration of leadership identity, beyond traditional leadership concepts, with a hard focus on the current cultural needs of young women. This reframing is opening the space for multiple ways of leading and being change agents in their communities and the world. Anyone who is an ally to an adolescent girl will discover fundamental aspects to supporting this intricately interwoven process in this session.

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