Girls' confidence drops by 30% between the ages 8 and 14.

"Now, more than ever, girls should be armed with confidence. They need to have faith in their phenomenal abilities, resist the need to please, fight back against intimidation from peers or adults, and stand up for others, and most importantly, themselves. Confident girls become confident women, and we want that status for our girls, who seem fearless and exuberant through most of elementary school, only to lose confidence at puberty. Boys and girls run neck and neck, confidence-wise, up to then, but when the estrogen-testosterone waves start flooding kids’ brains, all that changes. For girls, confidence takes a huge hit," observe Katty Kay, Claire Shipman and JillEllyn Riley.  Continue reading → Continue reading

Our favorite Mighty Girl school supplies to provide inspiration and encouragement all year long!

Who says school supplies have to be boring? When you pick up a few unique and empowering school supplies for your Mighty Girl (or yourself!), you're setting her up for an awesome year — one where she'll feel ready to take on any challenge in front of her!

To help find the perfect thing to give her a boost this year — whether she's starting kindergarten or college — we've put together a selection of our favorite school supplies, perfect for providing encouragement and inspiration all year long. From pencil cases to lunch wraps, there's something here for everyone. So take your pick and make this another Mighty year! Continue reading → Continue reading

After Nora Keegan spent three years studying whether hand dryers hurt children's hearing, she's published her research in a scientific journal.

When she was nine years old, Nora Keegan noticed that many children didn't want to use hand dryers and would often cover their ears around them. She understood from personal experience why they would have this reaction, observing that "sometimes after using hand dryers my ears would start ringing." In the fifth grade, she decided to investigate the topic further for a science fair project and started studying "if they were dangerous to hearing." Three years later, the now 13-year-old Mighty Girl from Calgary, Canada has just published the results of her multi-year study in a scientific paper in the Paediatrics & Child Health, the premiere Canadian pediatric journal. In it, she concludes that "children who say hand dryers 'hurt my ears' are correct" since, as she discovered through her research, many hand dryers operate "at levels that are clearly dangerous to children’s hearing." Continue reading → Continue reading

Six extraordinary women who deserve the "Hidden Figures" film treatment.

A few years ago, the names of Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson were little known — but thanks to the blockbuster movie Hidden Figures, millions of people around the world could tell you the story of these groundbreaking African American mathematicians and the way they changed the history of American space travel! But, of course, NASA's "human computers" are just the tip of the iceberg of inspiring women of history... there are thousands of 'hidden' women whose stories would astound and inspire audiences, just like Hidden Figures did. Continue reading → Continue reading

"I share this honor with ancestors and teachers who inspired in me a love of poetry, who taught that words are powerful and can make change when understanding appears impossible."

Poet Joy Harjo has been named America's 23rd Poet Laureate — making her the first Native American person to hold the prestigious position! "Joy Harjo has championed the art of poetry — 'soul talk' as she calls it — for over four decades," Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden said in a press release announcing Harjo's selection. "To her, poems are 'carriers of dreams, knowledge and wisdom,' and through them she tells an American story of tradition and loss, reckoning and myth-making." The 68-year-old, who is also the first poet laureate from Oklahoma, called it a "tremendous honor," saying, "I share this honor with ancestors and teachers who inspired in me a love of poetry, who taught that words are powerful and can make change when understanding appears impossible, and how time and timelessness can live together within a poem." Continue reading → Continue reading

With Captain Marvel, Anna Boden has become the first woman to direct a live-action movie that grossed over $1 billion.

Marvel Studios' Captain Marvel has soared to blockbuster success, becoming the first female-led superhero film to pass $1 billion at the box office! It has also made history as the first Marvel Cinematic Universe movie to feature a female solo lead. While the film's themes of perseverance and discovering your own power have spoken to a wide audience, this lead character is particularly meaningful for girls and women, who rarely see themselves as the heroic lead of a superhero film. Continue reading → Continue reading

Eight pioneering female pilots who went Higher, Further, Faster!

Marvel Studios' Captain Marvel was a blockbuster hit after its release in March — becoming the first female-led superhero film to pass $1 billion at the box office and inspiring legions of Mighty Girls with dreams of flight! The film tells the story of Carol Danvers, a U.S. Air Force test pilot who develops superhero abilities. Like many real-life female pioneers of flight, however, Danvers has to overcome doubt about her capabilities — from within and without — to discover her true strength. Continue reading → Continue reading

From an aerospace engineer to a helicopter pilot to a microbiologist, these five remarkable women will help lead the way in space exploration!

When NASA announced its newest class of astronaut candidates, it included five inspiring women! NASA received a record-breaking number of applicants for this astronaut class — over 18,000 in all — and the class itself has twelve members, their largest since the year 2000. "These women and men deserve our enthusiastic congratulations," said retired astronaut and Johnson Space Center Director Ellen Ochoa. "Children all across the United States right now dream of being in their shoes someday. We here at NASA are excited to welcome them to the team and look forward to working with them to inspire the next generation of explorers."

The astronaut candidates have another year of training in front of them before they're ready to break Earth's atmosphere, but in the meantime, space-loving Mighty Girls have five new role models to look up to! In this blog post, we introduce you to these five remarkably talented women. And, to inspire children who dream of their own careers in space, at the end of the post, we've showcased a variety of girl-empowering books and toys about shooting for the stars! Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of new biographies about Mighty Women for adult readers.

On A Mighty Girl, we feature thousands of books for children and teens about smart, confident, and courageous girls and women, but we are also often asked for reading recommendations for adults about inspiring women of the past and present. To that end, in this blog post, we're sharing our favorite biographies for older teen and adult readers about Mighty Women that were recently released in either hardcover or paperback.

The biographies featured showcase a diverse array of women from around the world in fields including science, entertainment, politics, athletics, and more. Some of the featured women are famous figures from the past, while others are women who are active today, boldly continuing to change the world. All of them have a fascinating story to tell and each one shows the power of an individual to make a difference in her unique way!

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After completing the notoriously grueling course, Sergeant 1st Class Janina Simmons said "62 days of training and I made it the first time through."

Sergeant 1st Class Janina Simmons has made history by becoming the first African American woman to graduate from the legendary U.S. Army Ranger School! The 29-year-old senior drill sergeant leader, who is based out of Fort Jackson in South Carolina, joins less than a dozen women who have completed the notoriously grueling weeks-long course and earned the right to wear the prestigious black and gold Ranger Tab. Simmons' performance was even more impressive because she completed all three phases without 'recycling' or repeating any parts of the course. "I'm excited. It's surreal," said Simmons about her historic feat. "I'm humbled to be here... 62 days of training and I made it the first time through." Continue reading → Continue reading