The Entrepreneurial Spirit of Teenage Girls
Despite freezing temperatures and biting winds, more than 70 teenage girls from local middle and high schools came to Babson on January 14 for the Girls Going Places Entrepreneurship Conference. They participated in a day of activities focused on increasing their financial literacy and independence.
The Girls Going Places Entrepreneurship Conference encourages girls ages 12 to 16 to take control of their financial future at an early age by broadening their understanding of the business world, creating an awareness of career options in business, and highlighting the rewards of financial independence. The Bulfinch Group, Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, The Commonwealth Institute, and the Center for Women’s Leadership at Babson College partnered to offer these girls the opportunity to gain confidence in their ability to be businesswomen, entrepreneurs, and financially savvy women.
Babson is the first top-ranked business school to create an academic center focused on advancing women in the business world. “We are pleased to host the Girls Going Places conference,” says Professor Nan Langowitz, director of Babson’s Center for Women’s Leadership. “It’s a terrific way to begin to introduce young women to the exciting possibilities of business life.”
Throughout the day, the girls interacted with local women entrepreneurs to explore business ownership and financial independence through activities such as the “Hot Company” board game—a game that introduced the girls to the vocabulary, history, and creative problem solving of business ownership. Later in the day, the girls worked together in teams to invent new products and write business plans. The day culminated with a video in which teenage entrepreneurs asked other teenagers to consider the possibilities and rewards that a future in business ownership holds.
"The day was groundbreaking,” says Lauren Stakutis, marketing director at The Bullfinch Group. “Young women left with a sense of leadership, financial independence, and the power to succeed in their future endeavors. When given the opportunity to be creative and strategic, they proved the sky's the limit!”
The conference is a part of Guardian Life Insurance Company’s national Women’s Initiative, which includes a national college scholarship competition titled Girls Going Places. The competition searches for, recognizes, and rewards girls ages 12 to 16 who demonstrate budding entrepreneurship, are taking the first steps toward financial independence, and have made a difference in their school or community. The Girls Going Places college scholarship program is accepting applications until February 27.
