After 20 years of Take Our Daughters to Work Day, time for a rethink

Today marks the 20th anniversary of Take Our Daughters to Work Day. The event, which now includes our sons too, is still a valuable chance to help children understand the workplace. But the problems that face girls and women have changed in the past two decades, and it’s time for the day’s emphasis to change, too.

What we need now is Take Our Daughters to the C-Suite Day – the offices occupied by corporate "chiefs."

Twenty years ago, the Ms. Foundation launched the program to demystify the workplace for girls and inspire them to embrace a wide range of careers. Now that women represent half the US workforce, we can fairly say that mission has been accomplished.

Girls no longer need help picturing themselves in a job; what they do need is encouragement to become leaders. In Fortune 500 companies, women make up just 3.6 percent of CEOs, 14 percent of executive officers, and 16 percent of board directors. Companies need to do much more to inspire women to lead, rather than blaming the lack of women leaders on what Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg calls an “ambition gap.”

Companies that are already committing time and resources to Take Our Children to Work Day can help close that gap by shifting their focus in three ways: introducing girls to female role models; more clearly explaining what leaders of both genders actually do; and supporting programs throughout the year that actively identify and groom female talent.

Introducing girls to a company’s highest ranking women is an easy step any organization can add to their career day programs – and it’s one that can make a huge difference. Marie Wilson, founder of Take Our Daughters to Work Day, often quotes child-rights advocate Marian Wright Edelman on this topic: “You can’t be what you can’t see.”

Girls want to see role models: A recent study by the Girl Scouts found that 80 percent of girls want to interact with successful women, but 60 percent had not been offered the opportunity to see these women in action at the workplace. Boys, in contrast, see a variety of male leaders in all aspects of their lives. 

Companies can help girls by using the day to introduce their employees’ daughters to women at the highest level of the company. And highlighting these leaders’ accomplishments will give the women themselves more visibility.

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