Girls Incorporated® was founded in 1864 to serve girls and young women who were experiencing upheaval in the aftermath of the Civil War. Across the decades, we adapted to meet the specific environmental challenges facing girls and young women, always working in partnership with schools and communities, and guided by our founders’ fundamental belief in the inherent potential of each girl. Woven into those early girls’ clubs are the same core values of Girls Inc. today: the importance of creating a safe gathering place for girls to learn and to share in a sisterhood, and a strong premise that each girl can develop her own capacities, self-confidence, and grow up healthy, educated, and independent.

LOCAL PNW HISTORY

Girls Inc. of the Pacific Northwest has been operating in Portland since 1998, Southwest Washington since 2017, and Seattle since 2018. We are a regional and financially independent affiliate of the national organization, Girls Inc., the nation’s leading voice for girls. Girls Inc. provides 90+ affiliate organizations across the U.S. and Canada with research-based programs, development, training, and advocacy support.

Further, Girls Inc. PNW recognizes the unique challenges that girls face and is committed to providing programming that helps compensate for these gender inequalities. That being said, we were founded at a time when our society’s general understanding of gender was limited. In recent years, our organization’s awareness and policies have changed. Today, we welcome all youth who experience gender-based barriers, including cisgender girls, transgender girls, gender-expansive or nonbinary youth, intersex youth, and youth who are questioning or unsure of their gender identity.

This position applies to new Girls Inc. PNW enrollees as well as youth already enrolled in our programs. Girls Inc. PNW staff respects a young person’s wishes to be called by a certain name and/or gender pronoun. We recognize that youth who identify as LGBTQIA or who are exploring their sexual orientation and/or gender identity need to know that Girls Inc. PNW is a safe space where they can be themselves and not worry about experiencing hurtful treatment from others.