The Girls Inc.^® organization has had a long and rich history. Please click on one of the links below to read more about the growth of Girls Inc. through the eyes of the executive director or president at the time.

The Girls Inc movement started in New England during the Industrial Revolution as a response to the needs of a new working class: young women who had migrated from rural communities in search of newly available job opportunities in textile mills and factories.

My sensible little mother used to say to me, “You’ve got to learn something that will earn you a living.” I guess that was different for the times, but my mother knew me. She knew that I was going to work at something, and she wanted me to work at something that paid.

When I was first asked to become head of Girls Inc., I was dubious. I told [then Board President] Mrs. Marjorie Duckrey, “I’m not a social worker; I’m an educator.” Her response delighted me: “That’s exactly my point,” she said. “We need someone who knows about educating girls.”

As one of the co-founders of the Center for Women Policy Studies, I spent most of the 1970s on the advocacy front in Washington, working on behalf of legal and economic issues affecting women.

In Girls Inc., I see the opportunity to blend what I think are the best aspects of the women’s and the civil rights movements. From the women's movement, I borrow the goal of women's economic independence. From the civil rights movement, I embrace the vision of crossing boundaries and inclusion. So we’re working to help girls across all races and ethnic groups become economically independent young women.

You will see dynamic growth from Girls Inc. over the next few years. Through our public education campaign, based on the Girls Inc. Girls’ Bill of Rights, this campaign will reach millions of girls and the adults who care about them.