America is on the cusp of potentially electing its first woman President of the United States. Yet women are still underpaid compared to men and the pay gap for women of color is even wider. Women remain greatly underrepresented in most major industries – including business, construction, manufacturing, science, technology, engineering, and politics. To help compel the next generation of young women to enthusiastically pursue their dreams, we joined Los Angeles County Supervisors Hilda Solis and Mark Ridley-Thomas to implement “Girl Empowerment Month” at ten public libraries. Opportunities for women abound and we are determined to raise awareness of them.

We tailored youth book club reading lists – and art activities – to fit the theme. Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten-age girls read I Like Myself by Karen Beaumont, Ninja Red Riding Hood by Corey Rosen Schwartz and Not All Princesses Wear Pink by Jane Yolen and Heidi E.Y. Stemple. Girls in grades 1-5 read Firebird by Misty Copeland and Christopher Meyers. Young women in grades 6-12 read I Am Malala (Young Reader’s Edition) by Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb. Girls at Camps Scudder and Scott – two Probation Department facilities – participated. So did girls from a Sheriff’s Department youth program.

By introducing our youngest girls to strong female characters, we encouraged them to be courageous in their most formative years. By sharing with school-age girls the success of Misty Copeland – who made history as the first African-American female principal dancer with the American Ballet Company – we encouraged them to pursue their dreams despite the odds. By exposing teen girls to the story of Malala Yousafzai – the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner ever, who survived a Taliban assassination attempt for daring to get an education – we provided perspective on their own challenges through an inspirational true story.