One of the primary functions of the Girl Scouts organization is to teach girls leadership. As girls progress through the Girl Scout program, they become involved in numerous activities, including mastering skills and experiencing activities where they must work in teams to achieve goals. In the process, girls develop strong communication and problem-solving skills that are significant qualities in exceptional leaders. Moreover, girls in scouting often interact with female leaders in the community, allowing them to learn from successful female leaders and integrate what they have learned into their own leadership practices.
Young teen girls growing up in today's society consistently experience uncertainty because of many factors, which can affect a girl's self-esteem and confidence. A girl's confidence can be shattered by physical changes as she matures toward adulthood and the attitudes throughout society that suggest females are incapable of success. Yet, Girl Scouts seeks to build confidence and self-esteem for girls by creating a safe environment with structure where girls can interact with their peers, learn skills from one another and their leaders and challenge them to overcome obstacles in their own lives and throughout the world. The Girl Scouts' program "Uniquely Me!" was developed to directly address the issue of confidence for girls, complete with outlines of activities and sessions for leaders and girls themselves.
The Girl Scouts organization offers the Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards to the top female members of scouting for their work within the community and throughout the world. Through this program, girls in scouting at all levels have the opportunity to investigate social issues that negatively impact a community and develop a solution to that issue. In the past, some of these solutions have included creating brochures that inform underserved communities about health concerns and developing methods to assist police departments in their identification of criminals. Whatever the project the girl takes on, she will make a difference in society through her commitment to the project and her creative resolutions to the issue.
With so many school systems focusing on standardized testing and so many households having only one parent to manage a family's needs, girls do not often have the opportunity to expand their skills beyond basic life functions. Girl Scouts, on the other hand, offers young teen females the opportunity to master a plethora of skills through the badge program. The badge program works with leaders assisting girls to learn skills in everything from sewing to computers, with the girls demonstrating their skills and knowledge and being awarded a badge to wear on their uniforms to acknowledge their accomplishments.