On April 27, thousands of small-business owners will be heading to work with their laptops, lunch bags, and hopefully, a daughter or two in tow.
This year, organizers of the eighth annual “Take Our Daughters to Work Day” are encouraging entrepreneurs to participate in the event, which has been mostly geared toward corporations.
“This is not just a career-development day,” said Kelly Parisi, communications manager for the Ms. Foundation for Women, which sponsors the event. “Considering that the majority of our workforce is involved in a small business, it’s important that girls be exposed to a wide range of jobs, and learn that small-business owners wear lots of different hats.”
Parisi said the organizers hope America’s 25.5 million small businesses will welcome daughters into their offices to mark the day aimed at recognizing the importance of working women.
“Each of these small businesses can offer the opportunity to showcase the value of women in the workplace in a unique way,” said Aida Alvarez, administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration. “I encourage small-business owners and their employees to take their daughters to work with them on this special day, as I will.”
Stephanie Lynn Ackler, a stockbroker and board member of the Financial Women’s Association of New York, said her group is encouraging members to bring their girls to work.
“I think it’s good to remove some of the mysticism about the workplace, and show girls that there are real women in the financial world,” said Ackler.
Attitude adjustment
This year’s theme is “Free to Be You and Me,” focusing on diversity and gender equality. The concept stemmed from research conducted in the early 1990s, which found that adolescent girls experience a “radical and distressing shift in their lives,” according to a Ms. Foundation report.
“What we found was that girls are strong, determined and confident until they hit adolescence, then, things start to change, and they lose some of that confidence,” said Parisi. “We wanted to design a program that all girls could participate in, even if they don’t have a parent in their life. We want them to connect with a caring adult; be exposed to the working world’s opportunities in a way that boosts their self-esteem and motivation.”
Since 1993, the fourth Thursday in April has been a day when girls ask to be excused from school to go to work with a parent, friend or mentor. When Parade Magazine covered the first event promoted in the New York City area, the Ms. Foundation was deluged with calls from parents and the media.
“The program struck a chord, so we just kept expanding it,” said Parisi.
It is now promoted internationally.
“We get tons of letters about all the things the girls do that day,” said Parisi. “It can be anything from going up with an aerial photographer to take pictures of Walt Disney World, to going out on a fishing boat, or designing Web sites.”
Girls who are unable to go to work can now participate online.
“We don’t want to see girls miss out because their school doesn’t choose to recognize the day,” said Rachel Muir, executive director and founder of Austin-based Girl Start, a nonprofit organization that promotes technology to young women.
Online celebration
Girl Start is sponsoring a virtual “Take Our Daughters to Work Day.” Girls are invited to log on to the Girl Start site (www.girlstart.org) between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. There, they can connect with business professionals, college students and medical students.
“Working women don’t even have to leave their desk to participate,” said Muir. “It doesn’t have to interfere with their workday.”
Girl Start has contacted schools all around the country, sending them release forms and asking teachers to allow their female students to go to the computer lab so they can participate in a variety of online activities.
“We have games, quizzes, puzzles, contests, and now, online mentoring,” said Muir.
There is no lack of working women to serve as mentors for young women. The number of working women has grown from 18.4 million in 1950 to 63 million in 1997. Although women are working in every industry, they still earn only 76 cents to every dollar earned by men, according to the Ms. Foundation. Every year, critics ask why the event excludes boys.
“We believe if boys are included, it shortchanges the girls,” said the Ms. Foundation’s Parisi.
But don’t worry about your sons. National Sons Day is set for May 4. You can find out about that at www.SonsDay.home.dhs.org.
The Ms. Foundation and the Program for Educational Change Agents at Tufts University have also developed a special curriculum called “Working It Out,” designed for boys on the day the girls are visiting workplaces. Call (800) 676-7780 for information.
Reporting by Julie Neal. Jane Applegate is the author of “201 Great Ideas for Your Small Business,” and is founder of ApplegateWay.com, a multimedia Web site for busy entrepreneurs. She can be reached via e-mail at [email protected].