The 3rd annual Girls Leadership Conference for high school girls in Lower Merion School District will focus on girls’ empowerment and leadership skills. In workshops led by college student mentors, alumnae and professional women from the community, girls will explore their strengths, learn and practice new skills to build confidence, and take part in conversations about opportunities and challenges for women in the world beyond high school.

The conference will take place at Lower Merion High School on Saturday, April 23, and is open to girls in grades 9 through 12 who attend Lower Merion and Harriton High Schools. Pre-registration is required by Wednesday, April 20. http://www.lmsd.org/girls-leadership/index.aspx

The conference is made possible through the generosity of the Education Foundation of Lower Merion, the Lower Merion/Harriton Alumni Association, and the Main Line Girls Basketball Association.

Bryn Mawr College, known for its expertise in preparing women for leadership and service, is a key supporter of the conference. Bryn Mawr and Haverford College students will be leading discussions about the diverse perspectives of race, class and culture in the female experience. MBA and undergraduate students from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania will share their business expertise.

The conference has several key objectives:

• Help girls identify their unique leadership style so that they can proactively chart their post-high school plans.
• Teach skills to help girls gain confidence, advocate for themselves and understand basic financial matters.
• Educate girls about gender issues that that are immediately relevant to their success in school and the workplace.
• Discuss ways that girls can handle gender discrimination and inequities in schools, work and society at large.
• Connect girls to young women mentors who share their experiences and views about gender issues in college, internships and jobs.

The conference workshops address many ways to build skills in confidence, leadership and advocacy, such as “ID Your Unique Leadership Style,” “Negotiations,” “Money Matters,” and ”Creating Your Own Empowering Media,” as well as ways to strengthen one’s body and mind through “Self Defense and Assertiveness Training,” and “De-Stress through Mindfulness.”

The Girls Leadership Council (GLC), comprising 20 girls from Lower Merion and Harriton High Schools and mentors from Haverford and Bryn Mawr Colleges, organized the conference.

“Our mission is to promote confidence and leadership skills in young women, and to raise awareness about how sexism and stereotypes affect everyone,” say Rachel Winicov and Blessing Osasuwa, the GLC leaders from Lower Merion High School. “We hope that girls will leave the conference feeling empowered and energized,” add Rohanna Foote and Alexandra Branscom, their counterparts at Harriton High School.

Girls who serve on the GLC grow as leaders through producing the conference and by educating and enlightening peers about gender issues. Through interaction with female role models such as college students and educators, social justice advocates, and professionals from the community, the girls gain insights into the political, historical and legal complexities that surround the pursuit of equal rights for women in all domains.

The GLC engages in other leadership activities throughout the school year, including:

• Writing Opinion pieces on gender issues for the schools’ newspapers.
• Leading peer education workshops about sexism, racism, sexual harassment and violence against women at home and abroad.
• Surveying peers about gender equality issues.
• Hosting speakers who address the experience of being female from diverse perspectives such as race, religion, national origin, class, and sexual and gender identity.
• Partnering with a girls’ school in India, where many girls don’t have access to education.
• Attending leadership programs for young women at college campuses and women’s organizations in the Philadelphia region.

The GLC also collaborates with student clubs at both schools where interest in gender equality is growing among students, such as Witness Inspire Action at Harriton, which includes boys, and Women in Power at Lower Merion.