On October 11, 2017, the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) made a historic decision to allow girls to join their programs. It is no coincidence this announcement fell on the International Day of the Girl. The BSA has been receiving requests for years to allow girls into their program.
I have been involved with the Boy Scouts of America for the last decade, and I am even an Eagle Scout. That aside, I have a sister who was always envious of the cool activities I got to take part in as a Boy Scout.
She always wished she could be a part of the Boy Scouts or join another group with equivalent activities, so it's no surprise that she is excited that the BSA now accepts girls (even if she has already long aged out of the program).
Not everyone was happy about the Boy Scouts of America's decision. Some parents felt that the Boy Scouts should be kept as an only boys program so that there was a place where "boys could be boys", and other critics felt it might get complicated involving girls, especially around the time boys hit puberty. However, most people, including myself, feel that having the BSA accept girls is a step in the right direction.
While the USA has the Boy Scouts of America and the Girl Scouts of the USA, most countries around the world already have one coed scouting program. To me and many others, it seemed like it was only a matter of time before the USA also moved to a system with one coed scouting organization.
While the Boy Scouts of America has offered coed programs since 1971, girls never had the opportunity to earn the rank of Eagle Scout and the recognition that goes along with it. According to the statement that was released:
"Starting in 2018, families can choose to sign up their sons and daughters for Cub Scouts. Existing packs may choose to establish a new girl pack, establish a pack that consists of girl dens and boy dens or remain an all-boy pack. Cub Scout dens will be single-gender — all boys or all girls. Using the same curriculum as the Boy Scouts program, the organization will also deliver a program for older girls, which will be announced in 2018 and projected to be available in 2019, that will enable them to earn the Eagle Scout rank. This unique approach allows the organization to maintain the integrity of the single gender model while also meeting the needs of today’s families."
For all the people worried about the addition of girls taking away from the BSA being a place where "boys can be boys," or that girls will make it awkward for the boys, just know that the addition of girls will in fact, not do any of that.
The BSA will simply open its programs to girls, from whom they have gotten many requests from over many decades, and it will allow girls to earn the rank of Eagle Scout while learning all the valuable life skills I learned along the way.
