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Today marks International Women’s Day 2022, and we want to the time today to emphasize the importance of breaking the bias in all industries, including our own.
While the world has come a long way, we still have a distance to go when it comes down to breaking gender stereotypes, especially internalized ones that we may not realize even exist.
Within outdoor learning, there is still a pre-conceived notion that boys will fall more easily into the activities; why wouldn’t they? Boys love getting muddy and rough. Yet, the same assurance does not exist for how much girls will enjoy playing in the outdoors. In fact, according to a paediatrics study from 2012, ‘preschool girls are 16 percent less likely to be taken outside to play by their parents than boys of the same age’ . They also found that while ‘59.4 percent of girls ages six through 12 participate in outdoor activities, that number drops by a whopping 4 percent by the time they reach their teenage years’ .
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Whether we realise it or not, we need to think if we’re establishing a pattern of behaviour, from the early years, that limits women and girls from being involved in key learning experiences.
With this in mind, let’s take a look at the ways in which outdoor learning and getting girls into nature, encouraging them to get as muddy and messy as the boys do, can actually help them to #BreakTheBias in the future and can help support the achievements of women.
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Confidence Building
On our camps, we introduce children to a lot of activities they’ve never tried before. There’s a level-playing field when it comes to the challenges they’re trying to solve, and it gives girls more of an opportunity to speak up and be heard amongst the chatter.
Our instructors work with children to ensure that every child is heard, and remind them that every idea to tackling the problem is valid (so long as it’s done safely, of course).
Understanding that their opinion matters, their contribution is necessary regardless of whether or not it leads to the success of the challenge is something they’ll carry forward with them.
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Resilience
Perfectionism has been reported significantly more in girls (15.8%) than boys (6.2%), so introducing girls into situations that helps build their resilience can be keep to supporting their mental health as they go forward in their academic and professional careers.
Through the power of outdoor play, young girls can learn how to try, try, try again without the pressure of school marks or the threat of failure looming over them. It’s all in the spirit of fun!
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Problem Solving
By using nature’s resources, we encourage girls to think differently and outside the box. They can exercise their problem solving skills and take them forward into other scenarios. The ability to adapt to the challenge at hand is invaluable, so by strengthening these muscles we’re preparing your daughter for any situation in the future.
All in all, these skills are essential for any child to thrive. We just need to make sure that we’re not limiting the ways that children can develop them. It’s time we #BreakTheBias and get girls into nature.
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Resources referenced:
https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/mother-natures-gender-problem
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.688811/full#:~:text=Yet%2C%20it%20has%20been%20reported,targeted%20specifically%20in%20adolescent%20samples.
