Background to the Motion 32 - Young Women in Governance Research:
At the 36th World Conference in 2017, the World Board of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) was
tasked with conducting a research project to explore why more Young Women were not standing for governance roles within the Movement, and to identify recommendations on how to improve this.
The Young Women Research Team (YWRT) and Motion 32 Project Team were created to carry out the necessary research and to provide recommendations for improving this perceived lack of diversity within all governance levels. A mixed-methods study was conducted across the five WAGGGS regions between March 2019 and December 2019, both virtually and at in-person events across the world.
Location: Pax Lodge, London - April 2019. Group Photo - First Row: PROJECT TEAM - Miguel Camacho, Martina Rodriguez, Chamathya Fernando, Leah Widdicombe, Meghana Belavadi (YWRT) Second Row: YWRT - Gabriela Bonilla-Rubi, Praise Adeyemo, Sheliza Ismail, Dawn Sammut, Beth Fiducia Brookes, Suzanna-Maria Sayegh and Meng-Ju Wu
Research Question:
Why are more Young Women not involved in decision-making roles and what can be done at the global/regional and national-level in the Girl Guiding/Girl Scouting movement to increase the number of Young Women in decision-making roles?
The Participatory Design and Team-Based Decision-Making structured the research project. The research project design was
decided by the YWRT and supported by the Project Team. The data collection for the research project was done from June 2019 to November 2019. The mixed method approach was chosen due to the combination of qualitative and quantitative data gathered through the research.
Location: Our Cabana, Mexico - December 2019 Group Photo - First Row: YWRT - Praise Adeyemo - Nigeria, Sheliza Ismail - Canada, Meghana Belavadi - India, Perpetua Randrianasolo - Madagascar, Gabriela Bonilla-Rubi - Costa Rica, Dawn Sammut - Malta, Beth Fiducia Brookes - UK, Suzanna-Maria Sayegh - Lebanon, Emna Fitouri - Tunisia and Meng-Ju Wu - Taiwan
Second Row: Project Team - Miguel Camacho (WAGGGS), Ines Goncalves (WAGGGS), Chamathya Fernando (World Board WAGGGS), Andreea Iosub (WAGGGS), Leah Widdicombe (Girlguiding UK), Solea Nalubega (Mama Cash/FRIDA)
Overall, the research aimed to inform the development of a strategy to increase Young Women in decision-making roles at global, regional and national levels. The final report with findings and recommendations is available here - Please download the final report to read more. Download the Young Women in Governance Research Report.