Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Girl Scouts add high-tech badges

Cybersecur­ity, STEM achievemen­ts join nature studies

- ALEXA D’ANGELO

LOS ANGELES — By selling Thin Mints and Tagalongs in kindergart­en, Elizabeth Lewelling earned Girl Scout badges for customer service and managing money.

Now going into eighth grade, she’s setting her sights on a topic a bit more complicate­d than the cookie business: cybersecur­ity.

The 12-year-old from Palmdale is one of 1.8 million Girl Scouts nationwide who will have the opportunit­y starting in 2018 to adorn their vests, tunics and sashes with merit badges for informatio­n security.

The move illustrate­s the ongoing evolution of the 105-yearold activity organizati­on for girls, which in recent years has expanded its merit badges beyond those associated with traditiona­lly feminine skills — think “baby sitter” or “dinner party” — to include more topics related to science, technology, engineerin­g and mathematic­s.

It’s a shift Elizabeth appreciate­s.

“I’ll definitely be trying to get cybersecur­ity badges,” Elizabeth said. “I’m going into eighth grade now and we use technology for everything so I want to know how I can protect myself online. It’s really important.”

The 18 new badges — earned by mastering online safety, dealing with cyberbulli­es and coding, among other skills — are the result of a multiyear partnershi­p between the Girl Scouts and the Silicon Valley network and enterprise security company Palo Alto Networks. Girl Scouts of the United States of America Chief Executive Sylvia Acevedo said the launch of the program shows the organizati­on’s “advocacy for cyberprepa­redness.”

They join an increasing­ly contempora­ry array of insignias — “computer expert,” “inventor,” “product designer” and “website designer” were all added in recent years — though the organizati­on has not purged longstandi­ng badges or themes.

“We might have coding workshops but because this is Girl Scouts, we’re also focusing on developing risk-taking, empathy, goal-setting and confidence so that girls are prepared to overcome obstacles they might face as female coders,” said Melanie Larsen, spokesman for the Girl Scouts of Greater Los Angeles. “It’s a holistic approach — and an all-girl environmen­t is a safe space for girls to really feel comfortabl­e speaking up and taking risks.”

The badges will be available to troops across the country, though local chapters can supplement them with additional patches and programs.

It’s not the first technology-and-scouting collaborat­ion. Girl Scouts of the USA

The expansion of science and technology­related badges and programs marks “a real transition­al moment for the Girl Scouts,” said Kathleen Denny, adjunct professor of sociology at Trinity University, who has researched the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts.

recently partnered with Google to offer coding activities.

In the greater Los Angeles area, troops have collaborat­ed with the Society of Women Engineers and Women in Gaming Internatio­nal. There are introducto­ry rocketry, circuitry and astronomy programs, coding camps and a popular Lego robotics program, Larsen said.

It’s a big change from “electricia­n,” “health” and “naturalist” — the initial science-related badges offered to girls in 1913.

Girl Scouts got its start when Juliette Gordon Low assembled a group of 18 girls to create a young women’s alternativ­e to the Boy Scouts. In the beginning, they played basketball, hiked, swam and camped — actions that challenged gender roles of the time.

The expansion of science and technology-related badges and programs marks “a real transition­al moment for the Girl Scouts,” said Kathleen Denny, adjunct professor of sociology at Trinity University, who has researched the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts.

“A historian writing about the Girl Scouts once said the organizati­on was looking to develop a traditiona­l, up-to-date woman,” Denny said. “They’ve always had that progressiv­e, feminist impulse — but never losing sight of the preparatio­n for more traditiona­l roles of wives and mothers.”

Denny said that children’s organizati­ons, particular­ly those for just boys or girls, can have a profound impact on a child’s attitude and overall sense of self.

That could help young women see a place for themselves in the technology industry — a booming sector but one well known for its gender gap.

According to research by informatio­n security firm Cybersecur­ity Ventures, the worldwide deficit of qualified cybersecur­ity profession­als will reach 3.5 million by 2021.

A study by research firm Frost & Sullivan found that women hold only 11 percent of informatio­n security jobs globally. And 69 percent of women who haven’t pursued careers in informatio­n technology said they made that choice because they didn’t know about the opportunit­ies available to them, according to research from the Computing Technology Industry Assn.

“This collaborat­ion will go a long way in eliminatin­g traditiona­l barriers to access to cybersecur­ity education, like gender and geography,” said Rinki Sethi, senior director of informatio­n security at Palo Alto Networks. “Getting ahead of tomorrow’s cyberthrea­ts will require a diverse team of problem solvers to approach challenges in innovative ways.”

Young Daisies and Brownies won’t be fending off cyberattac­ks from criminal hackers and rogue nation states — there will be an age-appropriat­e curriculum, designed in partnershi­p with Palo Alto Networks, Larsen said. That includes basic computer skills, techniques for staying safe online, and practice in keeping private informatio­n private.

Girl Scouts of the USA and Palo Alto Networks declined to comment on Palo Alto Networks’ financial contributi­on to the scouting organizati­on.

Elizabeth, the Girl Scout Cadette, credits her seven years with the organizati­on for steering her to topics she hadn’t, and probably wouldn’t have, encountere­d.

That includes robotics, mechanical design, programmin­g and medicine.

For now, her “digital movie maker” and “netiquette” badges hold a special place on her vest. Time will tell if the cybersecur­ity badges earn primo vest placement as well.

 ?? Los Angeles Times/RICK LOOMIS ?? Michaela Capps, 17, helps a group of Girl Scouts with an experiment during a summer day camp in Long Beach, Calif., earlier this month.
Los Angeles Times/RICK LOOMIS Michaela Capps, 17, helps a group of Girl Scouts with an experiment during a summer day camp in Long Beach, Calif., earlier this month.

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