TAKE A GIRL TO WORK, AND HELP BUILD HER CONFIDENCE

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 17, 1993                   TAG: 9303160214
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
TAKE A GIRL TO WORK, AND HELP BUILD HER CONFIDENCE
The Ms. Foundation for Women has a simple idea to help instill confidence in girls between the ages of 9 and 15. On April 28, mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles and friends are encouraged to take girls to work and show them what goes on.
"Girls will be going to factories, hospitals, restaurants and offices," predicts Marlo Thomas, the actress and co-chairwoman of the project with soprano Jessye Norman; Joyce Dinkins, wife of New York City mayor David Dinkins; and author Gloria Steinem.
"The girl that is taken to work may not go into that particular field, but that doesn't matter," Thomas said. "The point is for the girls to feel included, and unintimidated by the workplace."
The Ms. Foundation, which sponsors education and research programs, says studies show that girls who are confident at the age of 9 become a lot less confident in high school.
"Girls over the age of 10 are still getting the message that their lives should focus around boys," said Marie Wilson, president of the Ms. Foundation. "We're seeing a loss of voice and confidence, eating disorders and attempted suicides. We've achieved a lot in the last 20 years of the women's movement, but in this area, we've got a long way to go."
Some employers are setting up their own committees to prepare for the event. For other businesses, the Ms. Foundation is offering advice and suggestions, including an employer's guide for anyone interested in taking a girl to work.
"Girls are going to be entering the world of work one day, therefore they should be seen there," Wilson said. She said that the girls' presence will re-encourage women who are already in the workplace to have courage, and to look at sexism from a fresh point of view.
As a child, Marlo Thomas often accompanied her father, the actor Danny Thomas, to movie sets. "I would rehearse my father's lines with him, he made me feel a part of what he was doing, I felt important. And that's the whole idea behind taking girls to work. We want to ask them their opinions of the workplace and show them their ideas and questions are being heard."
Jessye Norman sees the day as being invaluable to both employers and young girls. "There might be some resistance on the part of certain employers, but if they begin with an attitude that they can help enormously, then the day will be successful."
Norman recalled going to work with her father, an insurance broker in Augusta, Ga., when she was 13 years old. "He let me answer the phones when the receptionist went out for lunch. I loved going there and being involved."
Schools, too, will be asked to participate. An informal and formal curriculum produced with funds from Ortho Pharmaceuticals will focus on the diversity of girls and will be available to schools across the country.
For more information and the employer's guide, write to: The Ms. Foundation for Women, 141 Fifth Ave., 6S, New York, N.Y. 10010.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB