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Daughters to Work Day strives to stay fresh
April 23, 1998
The Ms. Foundation created "Take Our Daughters to Work Day" after research revealed a drop in self-esteem as girls approach adolescence
Web posted at: 1:30 p.m. EDT (1730 GMT) In this story:(CNN) -- Now in its sixth year, "Take Our Daughters to Work Day" may have grown stale at some job sites. To keep it fresh, the annual career awareness project for adolescent girls is being remade.
TODTW was launched by the Ms. Foundation in 1993 on the heels of research that revealed a drop in self-esteem as girls approached and entered their teenage years.
"The goal is really to raise the aspirations of girls," says Marie Wilson, the foundation's president. "But the other goal is to get the country to pay attention to how powerful adults are in girls' lives."
The event -- held on the fourth Thursday in April -- has grown into a tradition for millions of young people -- both girls and boys.
Shannon Carroll, a 4th grader in Atlanta, was going to work with her mother, Moselle, a vice president at NationsBank.
"I'm getting ready to be a grown up," says Shannon, a 10-year-old who wants to be a veterinarian. "So it's best for me to learn before I do become one."
Innovation provides inspiration
At the Washington-based World Bank there was little interest in TODTW in recent years. On Thursday, however, about 1,800 girls were to participate in activities including a teleconference with girls worldwide.
"They may still take tours, but we discourage it," coordinator Kathryn Tama said. "Now it's more hands-on."
Companies are finding that tours and speeches are not enough to interest girls coming to Daughters to Work Day. Employers now scratch their heads for months to come up with enough creative activities to keep girls happy for the day -- and coming back again.
"Each year, the next year becomes even more difficult because we go through every effort imaginable to come up with something exciting," said Linda Gerstel, a partner at the New York law firm, Anderson Kill & Olick.
The firm begins planning in January for the day, usually centering things around a mock trial.
The goal is to raise the aspirations of young girls by giving them strong adult role models One year, the firm tried the Big Bad Wolf, who blew down the houses of the Three Little Pigs.
This year, seizing on the frenzy surrounding the hit movie "Titanic," the girls were helping assess who was liable for the 1912 ship disaster.
All of this creative activity is fine with the Ms. Foundation. "That's the stuff that keeps it fresh, keeps it current," Wilson said. "Companies have gotten smarter."
Boring jobs?
Francie Sloan, the day's lead organizer at Kaiser Permanente health care, can attest to that.
In early years, she and other organizers at the Oakland, California-based company tried to interest their young visitors in the largely administrative and financial jobs carried out at the company's headquarters. It was a mistake.
"We came to the conclusion that these are boring jobs," she said. "There's merit in them, but they're really not that interesting. We've gone back to the drawing board."
This year, the company will help the girls play games about nutrition, learn about resume writing and discuss "how the media shapes our body image" -- activities that are related to health and careers but are more snazzy for girls.
Admitting that one day a year is just a start, the Ms. Foundation published "Girls Seen and Heard," a book of life lessons that includes advice on applying what happens on TODTW.
"For instance, little girls who grow up wanting to draw clothes think that's what you do when you want to be a clothes designer," Wilson told CNN.
"When they go to Liz Claiborne and find out that you have to study mathematics (and) you have to know computer technology, that changes what you think you'll take next year in school."
Pizzazz pays off
Not all workplaces have to scratch heads to spice up the day.
The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, a U.S. government research organization in Berkeley, California, gives nearly the same program each year, including tours of its firehouse, scientific equipment shop and a workshop on DNA research in mice.
"There's no reason to reinvent the wheel," said organizer Marva Wilkins.
But for those workplaces that need a little pizzazz, creative and hands-on programs pay off.
Tina Perez, 18, found a renewed interest in the day when her mother's employer, Seventeen magazine, began allowing her and other girls to create their own magazine.
"When I first went there when I was 14, they just took us on a tour. I found it boring," said Tina, a New York City high school senior. "If they did tours every year, I would never have gone back."
Reporter Audrey Galex and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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