“If we want our girls to grow into positive, forward-thinking women, we have to start introducing them to alternative ways of dealing with issues like gossiping, cliques, conflicts, and even their health and finances, and we can’t wait until they enter college.”

This statement from Dr. Johnnetta Cole, America’s Sister President, is at the heart of programming that is presented to young women ages 14 to 17 at the Power Girls Global Summer Leadership Institute at Bennett College for Women.

Power Girls is a program of the Johnnetta B. Cole Global Diversity & Inclusion Institute, which launched in March 2004 at the College’s first Chief Diversity Officers Forum. With the mission of the Institute focused on supporting diversity and inclusion in the workplace and the “worldplace,” issues around “women of color” take on a special importance to an organization housed at Bennett, one of only two historically black colleges for women in the country. When you have a daily opportunity to see what happens to young women who are nurtured and encouraged alongside their educational curriculum, you gain a very good understanding of what would happen if it all started before college.

If we truly want to address underrepresentation of minority women in leadership positions in corporations and other organizations, much of it comes down to readiness and preparedness. The sooner a girl becomes aware of the education and career possibilities that exist, the sooner she learns about the requirements to enter those fields and begins to ask questions about what it takes to be a marketing executive, chief diversity officer, foundation head, or college president. Just wanting it isn’t enough, and it will come down to having the education and skills, as well as a support system that provides examples and mentors.

L to R: Bea Y. Perdue, JBC Institute intern Unique Turner, and Warren Dates		Dates and Perdue discussing upcoming events

Power Girls programming and activities focuses on acquiring and developing key skills that we know leaders need: effective communication and interpersonal skills, teamwork, creativity, and conflict management. Additionally, the program addresses “soft skills” such as appearance, etiquette, and community service, which can have tremendous impact and influence on how others view your ability to grow within an organization. The daily yoga and fitness classes emphasize developing and maintaining a healthy mind and body.

Equally important is the ability to build and support an inclusive environment. To that end, the program builds on the mission of the Institute by working with these young women to ensure they have the tools to develop cultural competencies around recognizing and appreciating the differences of others, and “utilizing their own differences to make a difference.” These are all skills that will benefit them now and for a lifetime.

Because it is a summer camp experience, the program provides time for exploring and fun, but it has a lot more work than days at the park. The successful women who lead the sessions reiterate: one of the keys to success continues to be hard work.

The women presenters really stood out in the evaluations from young women who participated in the 2005 pilot program. Women like television personality Judge Glenda Hatchett, World Pulse magazine editor Jensine Larsen, economist and commentator Dr. Julianne Malveaux, former North Carolina Secretary of Administration Gwen Swinson, and—of course—Dr. Cole, all shared their professional and personal journeys.

“It wasn’t just about meeting celebrities; these very successful women sat down and shared their experiences, answered questions, and most importantly showed them a ‘real’ example of the possibilities,” shared George Harris, whose daughter Crystal was one of twenty-four pilot participants. “I wish every young girl could have this kind of experience, having seen the impression these women made on my daughter.”

Amazingly, these highly successful women are eager to share their experiences and give back. This year Lt. Gov. Bev Perdue is hosting the Power Girls for lunch at the capital, and they will hear from women in government during a panel discussion featuring Representatives Alma Adams and Linda Coleman, along with Senator Katie Dorsett.

Marcia Gillespie, former executive editor of Essence and Ms. Magazine is spending an entire day this summer working with the Power Girls on their writing skills and enforcing the power of the “word.” She also serves as the Institute’s current Professor of Diversity In-Residence and spends time on a lot of college campuses.

“Students spend a lot of time text-messaging and cutting and pasting—the lack of formality spills over into all of their writing. They will be expected to write memos, letters and proposals in many of their professions and it can be a detriment to success when they can’t meet expectations. They need to know this!” Ms. Gillespie notes as her primary reason for dedicating a day to this effort.

What could be more inspiring to a young woman who dreams of being a journalist who gets to hear Marcia’s story along with some excellent writing tips? The impact is so visible when you think of what you couldn’t imagine as a young woman. Did a magazine editor or CEO or chief engineer live down the street from you? The first question for many young women is “What do they do?” and the next one is “What do you have to do to ‘be one’?”

The success of Power Girls will be measured by how many young women that we provide with those answers and the number we can prepare to be able to provide the answers for ”their” next generation.

www.jbcinstitute.org