Always® #LikeAGirl and Walmart Team up to Support Girl Scouts and Encourage Girls to Stick with STEM

Based on the insight from the Always #LikeAGirl campaign that half of girls lose confidence at pubertyi, Always is partnering with retailers to encourage girls to pursue their goals and build their confidence. As part of this work, Always and Walmart are pleased to announce their support of Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA), and with the help of Abigail Breslin, to encourage girls’ confidence in STEM.

A recent Always #LikeAGirl survey uncovered that seven in ten girls report being so afraid of failing during puberty that they avoid trying new things.ii This fear causes them to opt out of important growth opportunities, especially at school. The impact of this fear is increasingly evident within the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields, where experiencing failure makes one in two girls choose not to further their STEM studies.iii

To help address this issue, Always and Walmart are joining forces to help girls overcome that fear of failure so they can stay confident in studying STEM and Live #LikeAGirl. Walmart, with the support of Always #LikeAGirl, has committed $250,000 to support GSUSA to encourage girls in their STEM pursuits and fill the female STEM leadership pipeline.

“As a Girl Scout alum, I am so happy to partner with Always #LikeAGirl and Walmart to experience Girl Scouts’ STEM programming with the troops and share experiences of how I overcame my own challenges with issues of self-esteem and confidence,” said Abigail Breslin. “We want to show these girls that no matter what obstacles come their way, they can find success when they believe in themselves.”

Girl Scouts’ STEM programming helps girls learn to identify and investigate a problem, brainstorm ways to address it, and take action accordingly in a safe, all-girl space. Throughout the programming, girls likely experience setbacks which is why the programming aims to teach that unproven hypotheses are only fuel for learning, growing, and developing more effective solutions. At the conclusion of Girl Scouts’ STEM Journeys, girls work on a Take Action project pinpointing a problem in their own communities that they’d like to tackle, then working toward a sustainable solution using what they’ve learned.

Always and Walmart are hosting a STEM Academy event today with Girl Scouts of the USA to support participating girls as they work on Girl Scout STEM Journeys. More than 100 girls from 10 troops across the country will be led through a full-day of STEM-related and confidence-building activities including:

• Confidence-Building Improv Session led by The Harnisch Foundation’s Funny Girls with event emcee, actress and Girl Scout alum, Abigail Breslin
• Panel Discussion and Q&A featuring accomplished women in STEM, among them:
  • Sylvia Acevedo, CEO of Girls Scouts of the USA, Rocket Scientist
  • Tracy Van Houten, Systems Engineer at NASA JPL, Engineer on the Mars 2020 Mission
  • Dr. Knatokie Ford, Founder of Fly Sci Enterprise & Former Senior Policy Advisor at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy under the Obama Administration
  • Sumaiya Balbale, VP of E-Commerce, Mobile & Digital Marketing at Walmart
  • Chandrika Kasturi, R&D Director at P&G
• STEM Mentoring Moment, an opportunity for troops to meet and have a working session with female leaders in STEM from P&G and Jet.com, who are making themselves available to advise on girls’ Take Action projects throughout the duration of the program
• Computer Science Workshop Inspired by Girl Scouts’ STEM Curriculum, through which girls can learn to create an algorithm with Fly Sci Enterprise’s Dr. Knatokie Ford
• “Robotics: Building a Simple Sensor” Session led by NASA’s Tracy Van Houten

“We are excited to be working with Walmart and Always #LikeAGirl to create this unique experience for girls, providing them access to STEM mentors during a pivotal time in their lives. GSUSA knows that having strong female role models is critical to preparing girls to be the STEM leaders of the future,” said GSUSA CEO Sylvia Acevedo. “In Girl Scouts, girls learn to identify opportunities and gain the skills to seize them. This event will allow girls to engage in hands-on STEM activities and strengthen their confidence in STEM subjects.”

For more information, please visit https://www.girlscouts.org/en/about-girl-scouts/our-partners/always-walmart.html

About Always

Always®, the world's leader in feminine protection, offers a wide range of feminine pads, wipes and liners designed to fit different body types, period flows and preferences. For over 30 years, Always has also been empowering millions of girls globally through puberty and confidence education, and the provision of products to girls in need. More recently, the Always #LikeAGirl campaign has furthered these efforts by helping tackle key societal barriers to girls’ confidence. Together, Always believes we can create a world where puberty is a moment that propels girls forward into confident womanhood. Please visit www.always.com for more information.

The Always line of feminine products includes Always Infinity, Always Ultra-Thin, Always Maxi, Always Liners and Always Feminine Wipes. In 2016, Always was proud to announce that all feminine care owned production sites have achieved zero manufacturing waste to landfill. Please visit http://us.pg.com/sustainability/environmental-sustainability/focused-on/waste for more information.

About Girl Scouts of the USA

We're 2.6 million strong—1.8 million girls and 800,000 adults who believe in the power of every G.I.R.L. (Go-getter, Innovator, Risk-taker, Leader)™ to change the world. Our extraordinary journey began more than 100 years ago with the original G.I.R.L., Juliette Gordon “Daisy” Low. On March 12, 1912, in Savannah, Georgia, she organized the very first Girl Scout troop, and every year since, we’ve honored her vision and legacy, building girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place. We’re the preeminent leadership development organization for girls. And with programs from coast to coast and across the globe, Girl Scouts offers every girl a chance to practice a lifetime of leadership, adventure, and success. To volunteer, reconnect, donate, or join, visit www.girlscouts.org.

i The Always Puberty & Confidence Study Wave I, May 2014; based on U.S. females 16-24 years old; 2014 census.
ii The Always Confidence & Puberty Study Wave V, March 2017; based on U.S. females 16-24 years old; 2017 census.
iii The Always Confidence & Puberty STEM Study, August 2017; based on U.S. Females 16-24 years old; 2017 census.

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