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STRENGTH BUILDING + REAL TALK = GIRL POWER
At the heart of Lean In Girls is a 15-session curriculum designed for girls and young teens who identify with the girlhood experience, ages 11 to 15. With equal parts strength building and real talk on the bias and barriers girls face, our Lean In Girls curriculum teaches girls to embrace their leadership superpowers and reject limiting stereotypes about what girls can’t do. Teens who participate in the program tell us they discover more about themselves, learn there are lots of ways to lead, feel more confident in their abilities, and build strong connections with each other. We provide everything to make it easy for you to run a session. Just add a group of girls and watch something magical happen.
How it works
Designed for girls and teens who identify with the girlhood experience
Rooted in research and developed in close collaboration with experts and teens
Tested to ensure it resonates with a broad range of girls and fosters sharing and connection
Each session includes an “Ignite,” a fun info-packed activity, and a commitment to take action
We provide everything you need to get started—and always at no cost
inside the curriculum
The complete curriculum includes 15 one-hour sessions on topics critical to equipping girls to be self-assured, resilient, and inclusive everyday leaders.
part 2
CHALLENGING STEREOTYPES & INSPIRING GIRLS TO GO FOR IT
Girls examine the impact of pressure to please others and to act the way others expect, and are encouraged to set bold goals and take positive risks despite those pressures.
- session 1 Challenge Stereotypes: Girls learn to recognize limiting stereotypes about themselves and counter them with accurate self-descriptions.
- session 2 Reframe Failure: Girls learn about unfair messages that can make them more likely to fear failure, and practice finding the wins hiding in each “failure.”
- session 3 Embrace Risk-Taking: Girls discover the benefits of taking positive risks and practice identifying risks they can take right now.
- session 4 Set Bold & Healthy Goals: Girls recognize the negative impact of unhealthy pressure and identify when they’re feeling pressure to meet impossible standards.
- bonus session Celebrate!: Girls acknowledge and celebrate the ways they’ve grown as leaders and commit to finding meaningful opportunities to lead.
part 3
OVERCOMING BIAS & BARRIERS*
Girls are guided through an age-appropriate exploration of the unfair treatment they may experience due to their gender or other aspects of their identity, and get concrete tools to navigate those experiences.
- session 1 Explore the Layers of You: Teens reflect on their identities and see aspects of themselves reflected in diverse leaders they can look up to.
- session 2 Know When to Go for It!: Teens recognize behaviors that get in the way of going for it.
- session 3 Assert Yourself, Your Way: Teens learn what it means to be assertive and discover strategies for getting the outcomes they want, while minimizing the pushback they don't want.
- session 4 Defy the Doubters: Teens develop their ability to recognize and reframe when they are unfairly doubted, dismissed, or are made to feel unwelcome.
part 4
BECOMING AN ALLY*
Girls expand their understanding of ways people may be treated unfairly due to their identities and are prepared to practice active allyship as leaders.
- session 1 Embrace Allyship: Girls learn a range of allyship strategies that they can use when they witness unfair treatment.
- session 2 Call Out Unfair Treatment: Girls improve their ability to recognize biased, unfair treatment and explore ways to practice allyship.
- session 3 Build a Better World: Girls learn that unfair treatment can show up in the ways the world around them is designed and identify actions they can take to practice allyship.
The stock photography on this page is courtesy of Getty Images.