History

The Women and Girls Foundation began programming in 2005 with the Girls as Grant Makers program, serving 24 girls in Allegheny County. While the group was small, they were certainly mighty! That first year, the girls launched their international headline-grabbing “Girlcott” of Abercrombie and Fitch, launching WGF into the national news and winning the girls their first advocacy victory! The Girls as Grants Makers program then morphed into the Change Agents program in 2009, and our Change Agents girls were asked to come up with an advocacy project. After hearing that Pennsylvania was ranked 42 out of 50 states in women serving in elected office, they knew that they needed to find a solution. GirlGov was born!

GirlGov was created by teens for teens to give young self-identified girls the opportunity to be more informed, engaged, and interested in pursuing politics as a future career path. Since 2009, the program has served over 1,000 young women of Southwest Pennsylvania and continues to grow and evolve to reflect the needs of the time and communities we serve.

With the shift in our culture’s understanding of intersectional feminism and how structural and systemic racism impacts the financial well being and overall health of women and femmes in this region and state, WGF has responded by intentionally focusing on outreach education in spaces that demonstrate the highest need. We have also focused on starting to serve our students at an earlier age, creating greater deeper relationships that can lead to long-lasting impacts in the lives of our participants.

In 2023, to better and more effectively serve girls of color and in areas of high need in our region, expanded to include a middle school version of our Award winning Girl Gov program.

GirlGov is intentionally centering those changemakers who come from communities of color and of highest need. We are focused on creating early interventions so that the next generation of changemakers are prepared for the future. With our high school and middle school programs working in tandem, students are working together and gaining leadership skills while mentoring their younger peers. This dynamic provides tools to youth that will serve them once they leave school and enter their adult lives.

Our Mission

  • Closing equity gaps (civic engagement gaps for girls of color).
  • Creating the leaders and engaged citizens of the future.
  • Addressing systemic inequities by empowering, educating, inspiring and creating access for young girls and femmes to become voters when eligible.
  • Meet students where they are and uplift their voices and needs.
  • Create a welcoming and supportive space for girls and femmes that have multiple touchpoints for support throughout their lives.
  • As an organization, advocate for Pennsylvania to update standards for history and civics education.

To learn more about how our program has shaped career trajectories for young self-identified women and girls in the Southwestern Pennsylvania region, read the GirlGov 2020 Alumni Impact Report.

For more information about how to participate in our programs, you can reach out to Rylee Napolitan by emailing rylee@wgfpa.org.