Girls and women
Learn more about girls and women at Scouts.
At Scouts, we welcome people of all genders. We’re the largest mixed-gender youth organisation in the UK.
Girls and women have been in Scouts since the beginning. We’ve always had female volunteers. In 1909, there were around 6,000 girls in Scouts across the UK.
When Girl Guides was set up in 1910 by Robert Baden-Powell and his sister, Agnes, Scouts became just for boys. However, this changed in 1976, when girls joined Scouts as Venture Scouts. Scouts is now fully, and proudly, open to all.
Young people and volunteers of all genders should always feel understood, accepted and welcomed in Scouts.
We want to make sure that happens. We’ve got plenty of volunteer resources to help you explore challenges that people of different genders might face.
If you volunteer with young people, remember to make reasonable adjustments (if needed), so your meeting place and activities are accessible and inclusive for people of all genders.
Plan activities to raise awareness to learn and celebrate trailblazing women throughout history. You could mark events, such as:
- Rosa Parks Day (4 February)
- International Day of Women and Girls in Science (11 February)
- Women’s History Month (March)
- International Women’s Day (8 March)
- Ada Lovelace Day (8 October)
- International Day of the Girl Child (11 October)
Dive into the history of girls and women taking part in Scouts.
Find out how Preston Muslim Girls High School is making Scouts part of the curriculum and accessible to all.