What We’ve Learned - Girls on Boards Cohort 2 Evaluation

“I feel like a version of me before the program and after the program are two different people…I was lacking confidence and the program helped rebuild myself.”

Since the Girls on Boards program was launched in 2017, G(irls)20 has worked with Young Directors, Coaches, and Board Mentors to measure the impact and identify the challenges of the program. Through 2019 we worked with evaluation consultants who took a deep-dive into the experiences of our second (2018-2019) cohort’s experiences. We want to share with you, our community, about what we learned.  

Young Directors’ Experiences

In 2018, the Girls on Boards program recruited 22 young women to be placed on non-profit governance boards across the country, out of which 94% were matched to a board.

We evaluate three measures of impact: skills, confidence, and networks. These indicators help us determine whether we are achieving our organization’s mission to advance young women’s participation in decision-making spaces. Here’s a snapshot of what we learned from the 2018-2019 cohort:

“I am certainly more confident speaking up about what I feel is right in a respectful and diplomatic manner. I also feel generally more confident in myself and value my own personal and professional experiences more than I did in the past. I have certainly learned to step out of my comfort zone and reach out/develop professional relationships with people who have more working experience than I do as well.”

Recommendations

Finally, in addition to measuring the impact of the program, we received recommendations for changes to the program that run from new opportunities for participants to incorporating anti-oppressive approaches. We received a variety of suggestions on how to improve the Girls on Boards program design, engagement opportunities for participants, and anti-oppressive approaches. Here’s an overview of what we heard and the changes we have made to improve the experience for all stakeholders. Note that any changes made at the start of each cohort are subsequently carried over to the following cohort and are being measured and evaluated.