Girl Security’s mission is to empower adolescent girls, young women, and gender minority youth from underrepresented communities with the skills, experiences, networks, and support to pursue national security careers. Girl Security works to advance girls’ and women’s voices on national security issues with gendered impacts and is working to build a diverse workforce of women who can lead responsible and equitable security outcomes for the United States and global community.
For over a century, women have remained underrepresented across the national security sector, hindering their economic and societal impact potential in this consequential realm. Of the many national security pathways, women currently represent only 24 percent of the cybersecurity workforce. A lack of visible role models and access to national security learning and training impede the aspirations of girls’ and women’s advancement in the field. To address the gap in national security careers, Girl Security developed the first national security Workforce Training Program for girls ages 16 to 20, which combines enduring skill sets for a changing workplace shaped largely by technology, with national security competencies to prepare them for an increasingly globalizing world. Designed and led by national security practitioners, the training program builds participants’ self-confidence and self-efficacy while also providing mentoring, scholarships and stipends, and professional advancement to support each girl holistically. In addition, Girl Security ensures that girls’ and young women’s voices are amplified among national security decision makers responsible for their future through speaking opportunities, publishing opportunities, and more.
The Girls Opportunity Alliance Fund will support the development of the first National Security Clinic for high school girls on Chicago’s South Side, leveraging Girl Security’s flagship Workforce Training Program. This 15-Week hybrid program will be in partnership with Back of the Yards Preparatory High School (BOYCP), combining 12 weeks of e-learning with weekly on-site facilitation. Up to 25 girls from BOYCP will develop skills in STEM and Structured Analytic Techniques, for example, while also building competencies in fields such as cybersecurity and artificial intelligence. Participants will also engage in professional development clinics focused on interviewing, networking, project management and more. Girls will receive a stipend for the completion of the program and will gain access to a network of girls and national security experts in their community and across the nation.
For more information about Girl Security, please visit the organization’s website and social media pages:
See more projects: North America, United States