Girls'Day - Future Prospects for Girls

Every year technical enterprises, enterprises with technical departments and technical training facilities, universities, and research centres are invited to organise an open day for girls - Girls'Day. Girls'Day – 'Future Prospects for Girls' initiated a large campaign in which a wide range of professions and activities is presented to girls of 10 years upwards. The vocational choices of girls are influenced in a very positive way. For companies, Girls’Day has evolved as an important instrument of their recruitment policy.

Girls’Day encourages the surroundings of the young women - i.e. families, school, media and employers - to participate in the campaign and change their common attitudes towards vocational orientation. Information material, an all-embracing interactive website and an individual advisory service provide support for all target groups. The campaign includes a scientific evaluation.

Due to the nationwide focus and the uniform date, Girls'Day concentrates regional limited individual initiatives and achieves a unique broad effect. It is considered the largest career orientation project for female students. The 13th Girls'Day in April 2013 was a great success: More than 9,200 institutions offered more than 108,000 places for female students. The next Girls'Day will be held on March 27^th, 2014. Girls'Day – ‘Future Prospects for Girls’ is funded by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research, the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth and by the European Social Fund.

Network

• Companies and organizations are participating with around 10,000 events annually for more than 1.3 million girls yet.
• A network of more than 350 Girls'Day working groups – regional alliances of assets from chambers, employer associations, trade unions, equality bodies, employment agencies and many other facilities – is committed to the girls' future.

Girls’Day is effective

In recent years there has been a significant increase in female professionals in technical fields. Now the growth in employment of women is stronger than that of men in almost all scientific and technical professions.

Scientific evaluation

• More than 95 percent of the girls assess Girls’Day as “good“ or “very good“. 59 percent got to know professions in technology, sciences, IT and trade which they find interesting. More than half of them would like to gather specific information on these professions during an internship.
• 16 percent of the organisations have employed young women who got acquainted with the respective organisation through Girls’Day. You can find portrayals on www.girls-day.de.
• The girls are becoming more and more active in their search for a Girls’Day place: In 2012, 70 percent found their place by themselves or with a friend, often by using the campaign’s map on the Girls’Day homepage. The number of open events is increasing, exclusive “daughters’ days” recede.
• The evaluation shows an opening for gender-specific aspects of vocational orientation and an increased awareness of gender mainstreaming in companies and schools which take part several times.
• Girls’Day has a positive influence on the image of technology related professions and yields realistic estimations on behalf of employment outlook, job contents, and basic conditions.
• Scientific publication of evaluation results from 2002 to 2012 and further publications in the form of scientific papers.

Media resonance

Each year an average of 3,500 detailed reports in print, 5,400 online media products, more than 250 television and 200 radio articles about the Girls'Day are counted. A media equivalent value of EUR 11,7 million was achieved in print.

Website www.girls-day.de

• Page impressions: Up to 12,5 million by the month (more than 525.000 visits).
• Target groups: Girls from grade 5 to 10, teachers, employers and employees, parents, organizations, and media.
• Service: annual appeal across the nation to participate in Girls‘Day; map of Girls’Day events; nationwide database; vocational orientation, information for and about organizers and regional working groups, newsletter.

International Girls’Day

Meanwhile, the Girls'Day or similar actions take place in fourteen other European countries: Beside Germany in Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Czech Republic, Belgium, Kosovo, Poland, Spain, Italy, France, Switzerland, Hungary, Norway and Liechtenstein. Cross-border activities are conducted together with Austria, Luxembourg, Belgium, Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland. In 2013 the first Girls’Day was held in Estonia. In 2012 the first Girls’Day outside of Europe was held in Kyrgyzstan. To direct the girls attention to IT professions worldwide the “Girls in ICT Day” was established.

Support and cooperation

The project is funded by the European Social Fund, the German Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, and supported by the Confederation of German Employers' Associations (BDA), the German Trade Union Federation (DGB), the Federal employment Agency (BA), the German Industry and Commerce (Chambers), the Federation of German Industries (BDI), the German Confederation of Skilled Crafts (ZDH), the Federal Parent Council (BER) and the Initiative D21. The Standing Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK) and the Conference of Ministers of Gender Equality (GFMK) are represented as a permanent guest in the steering group.