This past week, Boy Scouts of America made the historic decision to allow girls to participate in the actual Boy Scout program. Currently, girls are allowed to be members of other Boy Scout affiliated programs, such as Venturing and Sea Scouts, but cannot earn the title of Eagle Scout. This new move will allow girls to get merit badges and work their way towards being bestowed the prestigious rank of Eagle.

In my opinion, this is an excellent move on the part of the Boy Scouts. They are recognizing that some girls are unsatisfied with the Girl Scout program and wish to have the same opportunities to learn and achieve distinction as boys do.

As a former Girl Scout, I can absolutely say that I am one of the girls disappointed by Girl Scouts. I was a Girl Scout all through elementary school and while we did some service projects and went to the occasional event, we never really did much else. We did have levels you could move up in, but you more or less advanced in rank when you turned a certain age, not by meeting requirements. I was also never made aware of the fact that I could earn a Gold Award.

I remember enviously watching my brother work his way through the Cub Scout and Boy Scout ranks, making lifelong friends, going camping, having adventures, and ultimately earning his Eagle. I wanted to do all the things he did, but I couldn’t because I wasn’t a boy.

But now, girls will be able to do all of the things I wished I could have. Even though I never got to be a Boy Scout, I am happy knowing that I can participate in venturing, and that the Boy Scouts are taking a huge step towards gender equality.