Rosie’s Girls Camp Held in Cincinnati

The Cincinnati chapter of the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) and the YWCA of Greater Cincinnati partnered to bring a Rosie’s Girls camp (named after Rosie the Riveter) to Cincinnati in July 2008. Numerous AGC members participated in the event, providing instructors, camp volunteers, supplies for the camp’s hands-on activities, funding, and tools for the girls to take home. Rosie’s Girls was developed by Vermont Works for Women (VWW) and is a trades exploration program for young adolescent girls (ages 11-13), designed to expose girls to a host of nontraditional fields and female role models, build self-esteem, perseverance and leadership through learning and applying basic skills in the skilled trades (e.g. carpentry, welding, electrical wiring, and auto repair). Eighteen girls participated in the three week Cincinnati camp.  The instructors for each of the modules were women trained and employed in the trades. Another key aspect of the program is community service, so in carpentry, the girls built a wooden bench/planter in to donate to the school.  Finally, each morning was started with a brief presentation by the “mentor for the day” who was a woman in a non-traditional career.  These mentors were engineers (civil and mechanical), industrial hygienists, lawyers, architects, accountants, urban planners, and electric utility lines workers.  Rosie’s Girls, first piloted in Vermont, has spread to twelve sites in four states and serves more than 275 girls each summer.

The results/impact of the camp was measured by pre- and post- camp surveys of the girls and their parents. 

These results indicated:

• A 20% increase in the number of girls who “feel confident that I can do things even when others think can’t.”
• A 20% increase in the number of girls who said “I am not afraid to try new things.”
• A 40% increase in the number of girls who said “What I do makes a difference.”
• 100% of the parents and girls would recommend the Rosie’s Girls camp to others.
• 78% of parents reported that Rosie’s Girls changed their daughters’ perceptions of the careers that are open to women.