Nadia Murad has become a global champion for girls and women.

Nadia Murad, the courageous Yazidi woman who escaped sexual enslavement by ISIS and went on to become a global champion for girls and women affected by violence, has just been awarded the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize! Murad was only 21 when her village was attacked by ISIS fighters in 2014 and she was forced into slavery. She spent months suffering rape, abuse, and violence before successfully escaping. Since that time, she has devoted herself to speaking on behalf of the Yazidi women still in captivity, as well as other girls and women who are victims of violence worldwide. "All those who commit the crimes of human trafficking and genocide must be brought to justice so that women and children can live in peace," asserts the 25-year-old activist. "These crimes against women and their freedom must be brought to an end today." Continue reading → Continue reading

Dr. Donna Strickland is only the third woman in history to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics.

Physicist Donna Strickland has just awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics for her groundbreaking work studying light and lasers — becoming the third woman in 117 years to win the prestigious award. The 59-year-old associate professor in the Physics and Astronomy Department at the University of Waterloo was a graduate student working on her doctoral dissertation when she and her supervisor invented chirped pulse amplification, a method that creates ultrashort, high-intensity bursts of laser light without destroying amplifiers. The technique is most famous for its use in the development of Lasik eye surgery, but it also allows manufacturers to drill tiny, precise holes and makes it possible to miniaturize laser systems. Strickland, who describes herself as a "laser jock," says that becoming the third woman ever to win a Nobel Prize in Physics is "surreal," adding, "It’s hard for me to take it in right now. But I’m trying to enjoy it." Continue reading → Continue reading

Dr. Frances Arnold, who pioneered the field of "directed evolution," became the fifth woman in history to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Dr. Frances Arnold has just been awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for pioneering the field of "directed evolution"  —  becoming the first American woman in history and the fifth woman overall to be honored.  The method she developed of engineering enzymes that mimic the process of natural selection has created a revolutionary new way for scientists and engineers to design more environmentally-friendly industrial processes. It's now being used in laboratories around the world to develop enzymes that can replace toxic compounds in everything from medicines to biofuels to laundry detergents. “My entire career I have been concerned about the damage we are doing to the planet and each other,” she says. “Change is easier when there are good, economically viable alternatives to harmful habits.” Continue reading → Continue reading

Non-profit organizations founded by girls and women that are changing the world!

After the rush of Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping, it's time to take a moment and give back! For the sixth year, people are celebrating Giving Tuesday, a day dedicated to donating money, time, and talent to charitable organizations around the world. By bringing together supporters from countries across the globe with organizations making a difference, Giving Tuesday provides a chance to amplify the small donations that each of us can make into big change!

To celebrate this day of giving at A Mighty Girl, we're highlighting ten incredible grassroots organizations founded by girls and women that we hope you'll consider supporting on this day and throughout the year. From helping orphans in Nepal to providing solar power for obstetricians in developing countries to growing healthy vegetables for people in need in the United States, these groups are making a real difference both locally and globally. Your donations can help magnify the efforts of these inspiring girls and women and ensure that their life-changing work reaches even further! Continue reading → Continue reading

"Your kid doesn't just want to take risks. She needs to take risks."

"Middle school gets a bad rap," says Michelle Icard, educator and author of Middle School Makeover: Improving the Way You and Your Child Experience the Middle School Years. "Middle school can be scary. But there is a lot to love about middle school, too. One of my favorites is that middle school can offer a buffet of new experiences." When kids start acting differently from the little kid you've known for so long however, whether it's wanting to dye their hair strange new colors, wearing only black, or hanging out with a new group of friends, many parents start to worry. Icard aims to set parents at ease, asserting that, while it may seem counterintuitive, one of the best way to keep your middle schooler out of trouble is to let them take risks — with a little guidance. “Who a child will become is not a foregone conclusion, and without trying a lot of new things, how can a young person truly know who she is?” Icard asks. "Becoming an independent adult, after all, requires a lot of bravery.... Your kid doesn’t just want to take risks. She needs to take risks." Continue reading → Continue reading

Women are vastly underrepresented in Congress but research has found they are superior at governing.

The average American likely knows that there are more men than women in the U.S. Congress, but few realize how vastly underrepresented women truly are, how progress has been stalled for an entire generation, and how poorly the U.S. fares in terms of women's representation compared to the rest of the world. As of 2018, women hold only 20% of the seats in the U.S. Congress. Not only has this percentage barely budged for years, it's essentially akin to the representation of women in Saudi Arabia, a country famous for its poor record on women's rights. On a global scale, women's representation in the US lags far behind many other countries, ranking 104 out of 193 in the world. Continue reading → Continue reading

25 Mighty Girl Halloween Costumes Celebrating Mighty Women

A popular theme among the over 2,000 photos of Mighty Girls in costume submitted to this year's A Mighty Girl Halloween Gallery were costumes that honored a pioneering woman from history or present day. In this blog post, we've showcased 25 of these Mighty Girl's incredible costumes and, to help you and your Mighty Girl learn more about the amazing women depicted, we've also linked to our character collection and biography section where relevant in a "Teachable Moment" feature. Continue reading → Continue reading

Our top picks of Mighty Girl superhero costumes from our Halloween costume collection and photos of Mighty Girls in costume shared by our community!

Who doesn't love pretending to be a superhero? Flying through the sky, using your skills, wits, and super powers to save the world is an exciting idea, especially for young children. So it's no wonder that superhero costumes are tremendously popular at Halloween! If a Mighty Girl wants to dress up as a favorite superhero, there's no shortage of Iron Man, Captain America, and Superman costumes but what if she wants to dress up as a female superhero? Costumes for even popular female superheroes such as Wonder Woman, Batgirl, and Supergirl are often nowhere to be seen. And if the costumes are available, often they are either highly sexualized, with short skirts and cutouts — hardly the right outfit for someone busy saving the day!

To make it easier to find empowering superhero costumes for fans of every age, from newborns to adults, we've showcased our favorites based on characters ranging from Black Widow to Bumblebee. In addition to being fun to wear, these costumes remind everyone that the world of superheroes has plenty of strong, intelligent, and courageous female characters to inspire costumes and dress-up wear. Dressed as her favorite superhero, your Mighty Girl will feel ready to take on the world!

For even more costume inspiration on themes ranging from superheroes to animals, you'll find hundreds of costumes for all ages from infants through adults in our Girl Empowerment Halloween Costume Guide. Continue reading → Continue reading

Our favorite occupation-themed Mighty Girl costumes from our own costume collection and photos of Mighty Girls in costume shared by our community!

Halloween dress-up fun gives kids a wonderful opportunity to imagine themselves in any number of roles, such as pursuing a future career aspiration! Whether she sees herself as a doctor, firefighter, ballerina, or scientist, she can "try on" her dream job for a night -- and perhaps even spark an interest that will last a lifetime.

In today's blog post, we share some of our favorite occupation-themed costumes, including a number from A Mighty Girl's costume collection such as veterinarian, astronaut, and chef costumes. Of course, many Mighty Girls enjoy the challenge of creating their own costume, so in the second section, we highlight a few of our favorite costumes inspired by careers that community members have shared with us in previous years!

For even more costume inspiration on themes ranging from superheroes to animals, you'll find hundreds of costumes for all ages from infants through adults in our Girl Empowerment Halloween Costume Guide. Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of new girl-empowering releases for children and teens.

September is always a big month for new book releases, but with so many new titles, it can be challenging to keep track of the best new Mighty Girl books. With gorgeous new picture books, inspiring tales about real-life female role models, new additions to popular chapter book series, and thought-provoking young adult fantasy, there's something new for every lover of girl-empowering literature! And, for even more options, you can find over 3,000 Mighty Girl books for all ages, sortable by recommended reader age and theme, in our main Book Collection. Continue reading → Continue reading