This week marks National Girls' Rights Week spearheaded by Girls, Inc., and the theme is Girls' Communities Matter. It sure does and Troy has historically been a community that has fostered Girl Power.

It was in Troy where Emma Willard started the first female college - the Troy Female Seminary in 1821, proving that women could learn as equals to men. Emma's sister Almira not only helped teach but wrote some of the first text books in the country for girls.

One of Willard's early graduates was Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815-1902) who is recognized as one of the major driving forces in the women's rights movement during the 19th century.

Another Willard student was Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage, class of 1848, who contributed money to the School and then created her own Russell Sage College in 1916, for years a women's only college.

Both Emma Willard and Russell Sage still offer outstanding education to girls, more than 180 years of girl power!

Kate Mullaney, a young Irish immigrant living in Troy, organized more than 200 women into the first female union, the Collar Laundry Union in 1864, and led three successful strikes for better working conditions for women. She didn't do it alone though. Two other Trojans, Esther Keegan and Sarah McQuillan, were part of the 1-2-3 punch. Mullaney later went on to become the first women to hold a leadership position in the National Labor Union in 1868.

So community has a lot to do with who you are and what you become. Girls Inc. and the Harris Interactive Poll have released some interesting statistics to back up this theme.

Girls get numerous and important benefits from girls' communities

* Girls who participate in girls' communities are more likely to expect to go to college than girls who have never participated (81% vs. 65%).
* Girls who participate in girls' communities are more likely than girls who have never participated to read books (46% vs. 33%).
* Girls who participate in girls' communities are more likely than girls who have never participated to play sports (52% vs. 26%).
* Girls who participate in girls' communities are more likely to feel safe in their schools. Sixty-three percent of girls who participate in girls' communities report feeling very safe in their classrooms at school compared to 50% of girls who never participated.

Both girls and boys recognize the value of girls' communities

* Two-thirds of students (67%) believe that girls are more likely to say what they really feel in groups with only girls.
* Half of secondary school students believe that girls are more likely to be listened to (49%) and to be leaders (49%) in groups with only girls.
* Forty-five percent of secondary schools students believe that girls are more likely to try new things in groups with only girls.

Girls' participation in girls' communities is limited by their economic circumstances.

* Girls whose mothers have only a high school degree or less are almost twice as likely to say that they have never participated in a girls' community as girls whose mothers graduated college.

The offices of Girls Incorporated of the Greater Capital Region are conducting neighborhood surveys to find out what's happening locally and subsequent Town Hall meetings will present those findings to the public and elected officials. Girls Inc. inspires girls to be strong, smart, and bold, and they currently have programs on Saturday morning at the YWCA in Troy. Contact Jenny Amstutz at their Schenectady office.

There is still a long way to go for girls. A recent study of 67 youth serving agencies in New York City found that fewer than 1/4th the total program participants were girls (23%), and more than 2/3rds do nothing to try and recruit them!

Certainly promoting Girls Inc.'s principles of empowerment for every girl is a wise investment - there are 36 million girls in this country. How many of them will have to struggle like Kate Mullaney, Emma Willard, or Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Those women spent most of their creative power having to fight for equality. Isn't it easier to open the door and let that creative power flow for the benefit of everyone?