Why “Give Back” to
New York City’s girls
Pam Maraldo, PhD
pjmaraldo@aol.com
Why Give Back to Girls?


Giving back is a wonderful thing…
But there are many ways to give back…
WHY GIVE BACK TO
GIRLS’ CAUSES?
 2 reasons:

Why Give Back to Girls?
We think differently and different
thinking is needed in the world
 The “Girl Effect”

Viva la Difference
Corpus Callosum
The bridge joining the two halves of the brain, called the corpus callosum, is larger in
Marge than in Homer. Marge can integrate information from the two halves of the brain,
meaning that she can simultaneously make Homer’s lunch, listen to Lisa’s saxophone
playing and insure that Bart doesn’t burn anything, while Homer has trouble combining
singing and driving without crashing into a chestnut tree.
Heart and Circulatory System
While Marge is young, she is less likely than Homer to develop high blood pressure over
Bart’s shenanigans. Her higher levels of estrogen prevent cholesterol deposits from forming
on artery walls. By the time Lisa graduates from Yale, however, Marge’s risk for heart
disease will begin to match his.
Lymphatic System
If Marge gets a cold, her immune system will respond more forcefully than Homer’s
immune system. But she is also more likely to suffer from diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis
and lupus erythematosus, linked to a highly active immune system that malfunctions .
Liver
Homer metabolizes beer faster and more efficiently than Marge does, so he is less likely to
get a hangover. But that immunity may partly explain why more men are alcoholics.
Stomach
No one can dispute that Homer is the gourmand of the Simpsons. He is unable to resist
pork chops, chocolate and Vaseline. But in the unlikely event that he decided to lose
weight, he could diet. For Marge, however, losing weight would require not only giving up
Jello desserts, but exercising.
Skeletal System
Homer’s body will always produce testosterone, but estrogen production virtually halts
when a women goes through menopause. Because these hormones rejuvenate bones, this
means that while Homer will always survive cliff falls on Bart’s skateboard unscathed,
Marge’s bones could become more brittle.
The Simpsons TM & ©1998 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. All Rights Reserved
Viva La Difference




Compartmentalized thinking: accepted structures,
approaches, values, is more typical of male-based
thinking: bureaucracies, medicine, science
Gilligan ---girls relational; don’t develop
autonomy in the same way
Because women perceive the world in more
relational, integrated ways and bring very different
attributes to our positions in society…
Investing in girls can bring about powerful social
and economic change…referred to as….
THE GIRL EFFECT
What happens when we invest in girls
 Educated girls grow into educated women---they
are likely to have healthier babies and educate
their children
 When girls and women earn income they are
likely to reinvest 90% of it back into their
families…as compared to 30-40% for a man
 An extra year of primary school boosts girls’
future wages by 20%; secondary school, another
15-20%
THE GIRL EFFECT
What happens when we don’t



1/3 of women in the U.S. become pregnant before the age
of 20 and 80% of those pregnancies are unintended.
In NYC, >40,000 teens are expected to become pregnant
this year, beginning the cycle of dropping out of high
school (1/3), living in poverty
Teen girls now represent more than half of all AIDS cases
among girls ages 13-19;NYC has the highest rate of
girls/women living with AIDS The Henry J. Kaiser Family
Foundation. HIV AIDS Policy Fact Sheet.
Girls Inc of New York City

10 years working to realize the Girl Effect in
NYC…..inspire all girls to be Strong, Smart,
Bold

Serve the most economically disadvantaged:
families earn >25,000 a year

Poorist, roughest neighborhoods according to the
state or the Federal government: South Bronx,
Bed Sty, lower East side
Girls Inc of New York City
How are we doing re: the girls effect in NYC
Trends for NYC girls are headed in
the wrong direction
Safety

Feeling unsafe is the major concern of
NYC girls.

Girls report that their complaints of sexual
harassment are largely ignored by school
staff. Many miss school because of it.

Girls report gun shots in their
neighborhoods that keep them awake at
night
Education
NYC still has one of the highest drop-out rates in the
nation.

More than half the 300,000 students in the city's high
schools failed to qualify for a diploma within four
years Board of Education Statistics as reported in the NYT, February
28th, 2008.

60 percent of the Hispanic students did not graduate
from high school in NYC Aspira

Girls have a high school graduation rate that is 20
percent higher than that of boys in New York City
Public Schools Manhattan Institute, Civic Report, 2002.
Health

More than 20% of New York City school girls are
overweight Am J Public Health. 2006 September; 94(9): 1496–1500.

Childhood overweight places girls at high risk for
developing long-term chronic conditions: diabetes
mellitus, coronary heart disease, orthopedic
disorders, and respiratory disease

Among girls, asthma prevalence (17% in NYC) is
associated with being overweight
Mental Health
Girls & Young Women in NYC show an alarming rate of
emotional distress. According to the latest NYC
Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Youth Risk
Behavior Survey, 2006:

40% of girls report that they are sad or hopeless, compared to 25% of
boys.

Latina teens, the largest minority group of girls in the country, are
more likely to try to take their lives than any other racial or ethnic
group their age. 25% say they've thought about suicide, and about 20%
percent attempt it. CDC, 2007.

Teen girls, young women outpace male counterparts for prescription
drug abuse dependence. Office of National Drug Control Policy, April 30,
2007
Sexuality and
Reproductive Health

Pregnancies and teen birth rates in NYC have increased
for the first time---3%--- in a decade. CDC, 2007

Latina teens are making the least progress in terms of teen
births: proportion of teen births to Latinas increased from
39% in 1995 to 51% in 2006 NYC DOHMH, 2007.

South Bronx—2, 3X higher than the national or NYC rates,
148 births/ 1000

1out of 4 girls have sexually transmitted infections

Risky behaviors often start before high school. 10% of NYC
students report having had sex before age 13, compared to 4%
in NY State. Condom use is declining, while sexual activity
is increasing NYC DOHMH, 2006.
Employment



55,000 of “disconnected” youth in the city are girls/teens
(neither in school or workforce)
One in three is a mother living with a child
Girls and young women are not equally represented in
career and technical education schools in NYC, especially
those that prepare students for higher paying occupations
6 of the 18 career and technical schools in NYC are more
than 75% male
Pink School, Blue School, NYC Public Advocate, 2008
Violence, Victimization

While there has been a steady decline in juvenile crime both
nationally and in NY State over the past decade, the number of
female juvenile arrests has increased by 20% in NYC over the
same period (NYC Committee on Juvenile Justice, Governmental Affairs
Division).

Girls in NYC are 3 times more likely to be reported victims of
sexual abuse than males. More than half of all rapes of
women occur before age 18; 22% occur before age 12 (NYC
Public Advocate Report)

Relationship abuse is the fastest growing type of domestic
violence. 1 in 5 girls under the age of 18 is an abusive
relationship. The NYC Domestic Violence Hotline receives the
majority of calls in this area
For Girls Inc of NYC,
What goes into the Girl Effect?





Listen to girls voices…
Project BOLD---Need for physical safety
Economic Literacy---Need for security
Mentoring/counseling---Need for trust, love,
respect, validation from caring adults, to foster
healthy emotional development, and form positive
relationships
Job readiness/Leadership programs---Need for
positive female role models to develop healthy
identity--internships
What goes into the Girl Effect?

Preventing Adolescent Pregnancy---Need for
safety to explore sexuality at own pace for healthy
development challenged by sexual abuse,
exploitation, negative messages about sexuality

Operation SMART, Media Literacy,
PeerSuasion, [research-based, award-winning]

Health Bridge—links to providers for
reproductive healthcare, mental health, CPE’s.

Careers in healthcare---nurses, physicians,
management--Bellevue
Girls Inc of New York City



Beats the odds with emphasis on education:
90% graduate from high school and go on
to college
Changing values and mind sets: College
Shower
2700 girls a year thru comprehensive,
individual, outreach programs
Girls Inc of New York City
Non Judgmental Acceptance and
Unconditional Support---Need to
belong, to feel competent and
worthy challenged by weakened
family ties, negative peer influences,
academic failure, low self-esteem
Incredibly resilient
Summary



Trends for NYC girls are headed in the wrong direction,
with potentially serious repercussions for the city and
society at large.
The girl effect is the same the world over. Yet even
though this is well known, girls as a group still receive
less than 0.5% of official development assistance.
To unleash the potential power of girls on the economic
recovery, much more is needed-- protecting their security
and meeting their basic needs.
Ways To Help and Give Back





As a leader, put girls at the heart of existing
and new philanthropy efforts and social
investment projects.
Use your influence to convince foundations
and city government agencies you work
with that girls should get increased
economic assistance.
As an individual donor (girlsincnyc.org);
College Shower,
Career Panels, Internships, Power Breakfast
Ways to Help and Give Back

Arts, Culture & Mentorship [Alvin Ailey
American Dance Theater, The Studio Museum in Harlem,
or the Brooklyn Museum of Art Center for Feminist Art].



Girls BuildIT Web project
Take Our Daughters to Work Day
Health Bridge
Leaders Agree…
"Investing in women is smart economics.
Investing in girls—catching them
upstream—is even smarter economics."
World Bank, Okonjo-Iweala