With International Women’s Day on 8th March, Rites for Girls, a non-profit with a proven track record for transforming the mental wellbeing of girls and women, is encouraging women to not let fear hold them back, and to dare to be all that they can be
- Launching a new Facilitator Training in June 2024, Rites for Girls calls for women to help lead its growing movement for social change
As this year’s International Women’s Day on 8th March theme is ‘inspire inclusion’, Rites for Girls CIC, a UK non-profit working to inspire and empower preteen girls and provide meaningful work for women seeking “more” in life – prepares to extend its outreach, launching its new Facilitator Training in June 2024. Bursary places are now available on this training for under-represented women which will enable better access for girls in more diverse communities.
While a YouGov poll concluded that only 17% of British workers claim to love their job, a Conference Board 2023 survey saw that women are almost 4 points behind men in terms of job satisfaction. Rites for Girls seeks to rectify this by offering training to women that will not only bring job satisfaction but will also help to change the world for tomorrow's women.
What is it that holds women back from applying for a role they really want? Women are less likely to apply for, and be recruited for jobs - is it a lack of confidence? An often-quoted statistic is that men will apply for a job if they meet 60% of the criteria, whereas women won’t apply unless they meet 100% of the criteria (Internal Hewlett Packard report). Nicki Brown, Facilitator for Rites for Girls, says, “As a young manager years ago, I was in a meeting where a male colleague said, “There’ll never be a woman on the board here.” I remember saying to him, “That must be so soul destroying, when you’re raising two daughters yourself, to know how limited women’s potential is.” And I wonder what it is that makes us feel that we have to be 100% perfect, and meet every single criteria, compared to men? Actually, we’ve got incredible experience and unique skill sets. We need a balance of the feminine and masculine, in all organisations.”
This International Women’s Day, Rites for Girls is encouraging women to step out of the shadows, especially in the workplace. Kim McCabe, Founder-Director of Rites for Girls and author of From Daughter to Woman: Parenting girls safely through their teens, says: “If you play small, you feel powerless. As it is often our light, not our darkness that frightens us the most… It’s the fear of the unknown, the fear of success, that can hold women back from going after their big dreams. But the truth is, daring to show up, take risks, and “play big” feels better than you think.” See Kim’s ‘Seven ways to be the change you want to see’ listicle attached below.
Rites for Girls’ mission is to change the world one girl at a time, by making the lives of girls safer, kinder and better supported. For women looking for more meaning in life, and wanting to do work that they feel makes a difference, Rites for Girls is launching its new Girls Journeying Together Facilitator Training in June 2024. This is a unique opportunity to become involved in pioneering work with preteen girls, led by Kim McCabe and Helena Løvendal. If you would like to find a deeper purpose, join a community of women supporting girls and their mothers in making the transition from girl to woman, and become the woman that you needed when you were 11, the next free webinar for further information will be on Tuesday 19th March. Girls Journeying Together groups offer a year of monthly support for preteen girls as they practice being true to themselves, learn about puberty, share their hopes and fears, and help each other into their teens. Women can acquire the skills and knowledge to deliver year-long Girls Journeying Together groups and become affiliated to a professional association.
Feedback from participants of the Facilitator Training, who are now leading Girls Journeying Together groups, demonstrates its capacity to enrich and transform the lives of women and girls. “The training highlighted how much this work is needed - it's something to do if you really want to make a difference to the lives of girls and their mothers in your local community,” says Sophie Beaupain, who will be facilitating a GJT group in south-west London, starting in April. “As a mother I think this work is so important for girls," says Maggie Rivron, who leads a group near Hereford. “It’s helped me to be a better mother, and I can see how it’s really helped the girls. All girls need this, I really feel that. It needs to grow, It needs to get out there.”
Charlotte Sarre, a facilitator from south-east London, says: “If there is any part of you that sees yourself doing this work, then do it. It’s priceless.”
Kim McCabe, Founder-Director of Rites for Girls and author of From Daughter to Woman: Parenting girls safely through their teens, says: “We are calling for more women to train as facilitators to support our budding movement for social change. Beginning in June 2024, our next two-year Facilitator Training is an extraordinary opportunity to bring meaning and purpose into your life as you learn to support girls to journey safely through adolescence and emerge as strong, capable young women, equipped to remain true to themselves and to express themselves freely in the face of the many pressures confronting them from peers, social media, cyber bullying, and society at large.”
Image: Jeff Moore photographer
