Women in Scouts are nothing new. We’ve always had female volunteers and now Scouts is fully mixed.
Girls first joined the Scout Movement in 1976 as Venture Scouts, the section which previously catered for 15-20 year olds. In 1991, UK Scouts became fully mixed. On 1 January 2007, it became compulsory for all groups to ensure provisions were in place to accept girls into all sections.
International Women’s Day is the perfect time to celebrate girls and women currently in Scouts. It occurs annually on March 8 and it celebrates the collective power of women past, present and future. It’s a global day connecting all women and girls around the world and inspiring them to achieve their full potential.
Try our International Women’s Day activities.
Assistant Beaver Scout Leader and Assistant Cub Scout Leader. I was also a Training Advisor. I am a Gilwell Fellow at Gilwell Park, the International Training Centre near Chingford in Essex and have been fortunate enough to travel to visit Scouts in Hungary, Mongolia, Vietnam and Cambodia, and also Namibia during a holiday. In each country I was delighted to find so many likenesses with Scouting in the UK, such as the Cub Scout Grand Howl, and also fascinated with the differences.
I had been running Brownies, then Guides, taking my young children along with me and my son said: “I’m fed up with all these girls. Can’t you do something with boys?” So I joined Cubs when he did a few months later and, except for a couple of years off, have been enjoying Scouting ever since!
I have had several female superheroes, such as Agnes Baden-Powell who founded the Girl Guides and Olave Baden-Powell who continued the amazing work and Eileen Wade who was B-Ps Secretary for 27 years, whose book I have just been re-reading. Throughout my time in Guiding and Scouting I have been encouraged by so many inspirational Leaders and helped by wonderful Trainers. My female superhero at present is Christine Mallett, the 1st Cowbridge Cub Scout Leader, who, despite ill-health, after Lockdown also ran the Beaver Scouts till she got someone to take over. She has been doing a magnificent job with both Units and I particularly admire her courage, her administrative skills and her joyous, catching enthusiasm.
I shall be celebrating International Women’s Day with the 1st Cowbridge Scout Group who have planned a party to celebrate my Scouting Award of the Silver Wolf. I am utterly astonished and amazed, but also thrilled to bits to be given this Award for being fortunate enough to spend about 42 plus years enjoying Scouting and having huge fun each week!
I’m an Assistant Cub Scout Leader with 3rd Cardigan Sea Scout Group on the West Wales coast. During my time in Scouting since 1994 – I’ve also been involved in a variety of roles including in Adult Training, as a leader across the variety of sections past and present and have represented Wales internationally as both a Scout and as a Scouter across the UK, in Africa and Poland and at two World Scout Jamborees in England and Japan.
Back in the early 90s I was involved with the local Girl Guides who met in the same place as the local Air Scouts. As a bit of a tomboy the boys looked to be having more my kind of fun but at that time girls of my age weren’t allowed in Scouting. However, it wasn’t long before the Scout Association announced that girls could join all sections in the UK and I crossed over faster than you could say “DYB, DYB, DYB!”. Soon I was having fun being ‘one of the boys’ getting seriously muddy, having adventures out on the water, in the hills and in the forests and learning awesome new skills like carpentry and mechanics and how to repair things alongside all the typical Scouting campcraft and experiences. Marching at my local Remembrance Day parade in my smart, ironed uniform with an arm full of badges and shiny highly polished shoes, learning new things and earning badges and awards were some of my favourite things to do back then and it’s still the same now! (Except we need more badges for adults!) I made lots of new friends and contacts who are still a firm part of my life today. All my learning and experiences that built me as a person is still apparent through my personality, character, morals, hobbies, interests, volunteering and in my employment today. I’ve always said that “Scouting made me” and this will always remain true, I have a lot to thank it for.
My female superhero is the writer, poet and activist Maya Angelou. I read her first autobiography ‘I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings’ as mandatory coursework in my mid-teens at high school. Her book, words and thinking really struck a chord with me and was something I identified with in many respects, seeing and considering my own struggles with and alongside hers. She really helped me to understand myself and my identity and realise what I wanted to achieve in the short and long term despite the challenging steps to get there. She helped me to acknowledge my merits and to develop and use them positively which helped build my self-acceptance, esteem and faith and belief in myself. Her words helped me towards becoming strong and motivated and to not settle for less, to follow my dreams despite the hurdles and naysayers and to stand up for myself. Ultimately, she taught me the value of not pretending to be something you’re not or to try emulate others just to ‘fit in’ but to be individual and proud of who I am, what I can offer, what I want and how I want to achieve things during my time in this world. I actually wrote to her after reading her book with how moved and inspired I was and was both surprised and honoured to receive a personalised reply back from her.
I’ll be celebrating IWD by thinking about incredible women in history and in the present day and who and what women may be and be perceived in the future. I’ll be thinking more so than usual of how I can use my own life, personality, skills, experiences and understanding to aid other girls and women to help support and motivate them to become the best versions of themselves that they can be and make their own positive and rewarding stamp on this world as I always have and always will aim to do myself.
I am a Squirrels Section Leader in 1st Trealaw.
I joined Scouting when I first met my husband who was already involved in Scouting and had been for many years. I started just helping out but quickly caught the bug! I was a Scouts Section Leader for many years, then GSL before taking a step back when my own little troop came along! I’ve recently started the new Squirrels Section and I’m REALLY enjoying it!
I don’t have a single female superhero – I think women everywhere who are fighting for equality of all types, pulling down barriers, smashing glass ceilings and breaking ground are heroes – and especially women who support each other and build each other up!
I will be celebrating International Women’s Day with my own little girl and making sure she knows she can be anything she wants to be!
