Your native Woman Scout troop could possibly be incubating the following Fortune 500 CEO.
Eight ladies leaders of Fortune 500 firms have been as soon as Daisies, Brownies, Juniors, or extra, based on an evaluation by Fortune employees.
“It’s no surprise that so many women in leadership roles were at one time a Girl Scout,” the Woman Scouts of the USA’s CEO, Bonnie Barczykowski, instructed Fortune when requested concerning the outcomes.
Present Fortune 500 CEOs who’re Woman Scouts alumnae embody Basic Motors’ Mary Barra, Centene’s Sarah London, Oracle’s Safra Catz, Basic Dynamics’ Phebe Novakovic, Bathtub & Physique Works’ Gina Boswell, Edward Jones Investments’ Penny Pennington, and Graybar Electrical’s Kathleen Mazzarella.
Well-known for his or her seasonal collection of delectable desserts together with Skinny Mints, Trefoils, Tagalongs, and Caramel deLites, the Woman Scouts really function the biggest girl-led entrepreneurial program on the planet, promoting over 200 million bins yearly and producing about $1 billion, based on Barczykowski.
“It is a period of time in which they engage into the financial education piece and learn how to promote their cookie business as young entrepreneurs,” Barczykowski mentioned.
Many of those CEOs instructed Fortune that the expertise actually mattered for his or her careers.
“Being a Girl Scout gave me an opportunity to explore new ideas and step outside of my comfort zone, which helped me gain confidence and a belief in my abilities,” Mazzarella, who’s helmed Graybar Electrical since 2012, instructed Fortune in an emailed assertion. “The timeless life lessons I learned as a Girl Scout influenced me throughout my career and continue to shape the way I lead today.”
Pennington, who joined Edward Jones in 2000 earlier than turning into managing associate in 2019, spent a number of years as a Woman Scout within the early Nineteen Seventies.
“Brownies and Girls Scouts left a lasting impression on me—my confidence in learning new things, the fun of working as a troop, and the commitment of adults who were guiding us,” Pennington mentioned in an emailed assertion. “Those are values I still talk about to this day and carry forward in life, decades later.”
The listing additionally extends to former members of Fortune 500 C-suites, like former IBM CEO Ginni Rometty, former Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson, and former Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg. Different enterprise leaders embody former YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, former JCPenny CEO Jill Soltau, and former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer.
The 2023 Fortune 500 rating marked a brand new milestone for feminine leaders, with greater than 10% of America’s largest firms ranked by income being run by ladies for the primary time.
The final has shifted previously 12 months because of latest exits together with Roz Brewer from Walgreens Boots Alliance, Elizabeth Burr from Ceremony Support, Julie Sloat from American Electrical Energy, and Barbara Smith from Industrial Metals. Nonetheless, newcomers within the type of MDU Sources’ Nicole Kivisto, Levi Strauss & Co.’s Michelle Gass, and Chemours’ Denise Dignam have ensured that 52 firms out of the five hundred nonetheless stay led by ladies. (And sure, eight out of 52 members coming from the ranks of the Woman Scouts is a better proportion than feminine CEOs on the Fortune 500, 15.3% to 10.4%.)
The 2024 Fortune 500 rating will debut in June. Final 12 months, the highest 10 firms alone posted $3.7 trillion in income, with the overall listing representing two-thirds of the U.S. GDP.
On my honor
One in each three ladies in the USA was at one time a Woman Scout, based on Barczykowski, however the chief govt herself was not one among them.
“There’s always a mic drop when I share that I was never in Girl Scouting,” Barczykowski mentioned.
Based in 1912 with a mission of educating younger women useful abilities like tenting, group service, and first assist, the Woman Scouts of the USA has since grown to over a million energetic members and 50 million alumnae.
“When I meet women from around the nation, and I ask them about their Girl Scout experience, whether they were in Girl Scouts one year, three years, 10 years, or 13, they all have memories and experiences that they tie back to that had influenced them in their lives,” Barczykowski mentioned.
The group’s affect stretches throughout the nation with 111 councils, and even outer house. The primary American girl to stroll in house, Kathryn Sullivan, mentioned she prioritized “filling up her sash” with badges as a younger troop member.
The group’s attain additionally extends to politics; the halls of Capitol Hill and the White Home are crammed with former members. In response to the Woman Scouts, 56% of ladies within the 117th Congress (2021-2022) have been recognized to be alums. Plus, each feminine secretary of state in U.S. historical past was a Woman Scout or Woman Information alum, together with Madeleine Albright, Condoleezza Rice, and Hillary Clinton.
“A majority of the women astronauts were at one time Girl Scouts, a majority of our folks who are in the Senate and the House were at one time Girl Scouts,” Barczykowski mentioned.
Hollywood additionally boasts a roster of Woman Scout stars, together with Carrie Fisher, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Reese Witherspoon. Music celebrity Taylor Swift served as a Woman Scout in her native Pennsylvania, and notably donated free tickets to her 2018 Fame tour to troops in New Jersey and Connecticut. Much more, the Woman Scouts can rely on precise royalty as former members:s Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, and Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco.
“When I think of some of the leaders that lead different organizations, both nonprofits and corporations and foundations, they were at one time Girl Scouts,” Barczykowski mentioned. “Again, no surprise when you hear about the skills that they built from when they were young that they’ve carried into these amazing careers.”
Badges and enterprise
Fortune 500 and World 500 firms have partnered with GSUSA to fund new packages and curriculum for younger women–full with themed badges to fill their sashes.
Fannie Mae CEO Priscilla Almodovar instructed Fortune she was a “big fan of badges” as a Woman Scout, and she or he nonetheless remembers her first tenting journey along with her troop.
“Badges made me curious to try out and learn new things, gave me the confidence that I can build new skills and gain knowledge, and taught me to hold myself accountable,” Almodovar mentioned in an emailed assertion. “I also learned about teamwork and working alongside other girls.”
GM CEO Mary Barra, a former Brownie, instructed Fortune that being a Woman Scout “exposes girls and young women to new experiences and opportunities they may have never imagined,” and helped introduce new STEM-themed badges.
In 2020, her firm introduced a $1 million grant to assist the group develop STEM programming and train members concerning the designing, engineering, and manufacturing of automobiles.
“We are proud of our work with Girl Scouts of the USA to help launch a series of STEM and Automotive badges,” GM CEO Barra mentioned in an emailed assertion. “We need more women in STEM fields and Girl Scouts is an incredible organization inspiring the innovators of the future.”
It’s a sentiment echoed by fellow Fortune 500 boss Gina Boswell, CEO of Bathtub & Physique Works, whose firm offered some seed funding for a 220-acre immersive STEM and Management Campus in Galloway, Ohio.
Boswell instructed Fortune she was “a proud Girl Scout from the time I was six years old straight through my freshman year of high school.”
“One of the biggest takeaways from my Girl Scouts experience was the importance of community, service to others and creating a sense of belonging,” Boswell mentioned in an emailed assertion. “When you become a Girl Scout, you realize for the first time that there’s more to life than just your individual self – you realize that you’re part of a larger collective.”
But it surely additionally looks as if all these cookie gross sales actually taught a enterprise lesson, alongside the best way.