What is Girls With Ideas?
Girls With Ideas began as a social-good initiative dedicated to teaching girls how to become confident, creative leaders. Through hands-on activities and an accessible leadership framework, the program helped young people turn their ideas into real projects—building voice, agency, and collaboration along the way.
Today, Girls With Ideas is evolving into a broader platform for the next generation of remote leaders. It still champions the same mission—building confident, creative leaders—but now extends that support into the world of remote work, freelancing, and side hustles so young women can launch careers on their own terms.
How It Started
The organization was co-founded by school psychologist and leadership researcher Dr. Allison Poss, whose work focused on creativity and the gender leadership gap. Early on, the team developed an engaging curriculum and community resources designed for girls at a pivotal age—roughly 9 to 13—when confidence and identity are rapidly forming. Girls With Ideas formally launched after completing a startup accelerator, shifting from a classroom project to an operating program with a public footprint.
What It Looks Like Today
The platform now blends its original confidence-building tools with practical career content for the modern economy. Think:
- Remote work how-tos that demystify landing your first online role
- Freelancing and side-hustle guides that turn skills into income
- Leadership and confidence resources rooted in classroom-tested activities
- Inspiring interviews with women who’ve built meaningful, flexible careers
This evolution reflects a simple truth: those girls are growing up—and Girls With Ideas is growing with them, helping them become leaders of their own life and work.
Impact, Reach, and Recognition
The original leadership curriculum has reached more than 1,200 girls across six countries, with interactive lessons that make leadership feel tangible—less about titles, more about taking action. Community pages and educator marketplaces have showcased free sample lessons and signature activities (like a leadership-styles workshop and a quick self-assessment) to help facilitators bring the material to their own groups.
The Girls With Ideas Leadership Style Lens
Not all leaders look the same—and that’s the point. Girls With Ideas popularized an easy, memorable way to explore strengths (often framed as “Heart,” “Arrow,” “Anchor,” and “Lightning Bolt” leadership styles). The goal is to help each girl see her unique approach as valid and valuable—and to practice using it on real projects.
Why It Matters
- Confidence drops early. Many girls begin doubting their abilities in early elementary years—right when they should be experimenting boldly. Programs that normalize leadership (and show many ways to lead) can change trajectories.
- Representation and practice beat theory. When girls practice leadership in low-stakes, creative settings, they build the agility, empathy, and collaboration skills that carry into school, sports, and later into the workplace.
- The world of work is changing. Remote roles and self-directed careers reward initiative, communication, and problem-solving—the very skills Girls With Ideas has nurtured from the start.
Who It’s For
- Students ready to turn a spark into a project—or a project into a portfolio
- Educators & mentors looking for structured, creative activities that grow voice and teamwork
- Early-career women seeking a practical runway into remote work, freelancing, and side hustles
- Parents & community leaders who want research-informed, real-world tools that build confidence and initiative
What You’ll Find on the Site
- Remote Work 101: how to identify legitimate roles, pitch your value, and stand out as a beginner
- Side-Hustle Ideas: low-lift, skill-based options to start earning while learning
- Leadership Toolkit: bite-sized exercises to build confidence, communication, and collaboration
- Real Women, Real Stories: interviews and profiles that model pathways into purpose-driven, flexible work
The Bigger Picture
Girls With Ideas sits within a broader ecosystem of programs aiming to close the confidence and leadership gaps for girls. Together, these efforts—curricula, clubs, research, and media spotlights—are changing how young people see leaders and how girls see themselves. That shift doesn’t just help girls “fit in” to leadership; it helps redefine leadership altogether.