Today we’re celebrating International Day of the Girl! Did you know women earn 50 percent of science and engineering bachelor’s degrees but only make up 29 percent of the workforce for those fields?

Since its inception in 2011 by the United Nations, people from across the world spend International Day of the Girl focused on bringing awareness to the challenges girls face. This year’s theme is With Her: A Skilled GirlForce.

October 11 begins the yearlong focus on girls’ needs with attention on how to help them successfully transition into the workforce. Girls around the world often face gender stereotypes, lower pay, and lack of proper training when entering the workforce.

Girl Scouts helps girls see their importance and how they can make an impact on the world. By joining the #SkilledGirlForce, girls can be better prepared for their career and show how necessary they are to the workforce.

Here at Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee, we give girls the opportunity to prepare for the profession of their dreams! Through the Entrepreneur Center for Girls Powered by Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee and Girl Innovator programs, we are encouraging girls to follow their passions. The Entrepreneur Center helps prepare Girl Scout Cadettes, Seniors, and Ambassadors for their future careers with programs to help them create business plans, work on resumes, and gain confidence for interviews; and our Girl Innovator programs allow girls to explore all areas of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) with Lego robotics, slime, and squishy circuits. Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee wants girls to follow their goals to wherever it could lead them.

We love the attention International Day of the Girl draws to helping better serve all girls. Girls play a crucial role in the economy, whether it be with their career or buying power, and we can’t wait to see how girls from our council take part in the #SkilledGirlForce!