Why are teen girls more likely to volunteer?
Visit any fundraising event, sporting event, social or cultural event and the number of girls volunteering far outpaces the guys. Is this because girls are more social than boys? Have different motivational reasons? Are more available? Have mothers who are role models in these endeavours? Although not scientifically proven, all of these factors contribute to support these observations.
Some facts are emerging on trends in young people’s choices to volunteer, particularly since volunteering is a requirement for high school graduation for a new generation of students. While high school guidance counsellors in the past had to scramble to have grade 12 students complete these 40 mandated hours of community service in their final year, nowadays many students complete their hours by the end of grade 9. Students are encouraged to complete hours before starting to look for a part-time job, on the premise that giving time for free is more difficult to consider once a student starts being paid for their time with a job.
Motivational reasons do play a larger role in why we may observe more girls volunteering at certain events than guys. A recent poll (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/27/teens-volunteering-new-da_n_2025240.html) indicated that, although girls and guys volunteer primarily because they care about a certain cause, secondary reasons deviate in the two groups: while girls want to make a difference and think volunteering is its own reward, guys on the other hand, volunteer because they want to get into college or get a good job. So while girls may represent a larger number at a variety of events because they have no particular preference on where they volunteer, guys may choose events and opportunities suited to their college or career purposes for their volunteer time.
It is good to see that trends indicate volunteerism as an activity of choice for young people in Canada. Young Canadians, aged 15-24, volunteer more than any other age group at a rate of 58 per cent versus the overall rate of 47 per cent (Canada Survey on Giving, Volunteering and Participating, 2010). Many students continue to accumulate volunteer hours past the required 40 hours for high school, with some graduating with hundreds and even thousands of volunteer hours to their credit. New graduation and community awards have been created to recognize these achievements.
It is also interesting to note that the trend shows volunteering continues into adulthood, so the concept of role models who volunteer influencing young people holds true. Moms who volunteered in school based activities with their children demonstrated a value attached to this activity that may have transferred to a new generation. Although mothers have volunteered for many generations in school in the past, it is recognition by today’s society of this accessible philanthropic action which gives volunteering its added value.
Many employers look for volunteer activity on a candidate’s resume when hiring, as it shows good citizenship and a contribution to the overall good of society, an element that could positively transfer in the work environment and to an employer’s benefit. An employee who volunteers time could promote team volunteerism: a positive image for the company as a ‘good corporate citizen’ which in turn could generate greater economic or competitive advantage in the field.
An example of a strong link between female volunteerism and the success of girls and women worldwide is Plan Canada’s recent Because I am a Girl campaign. With its vivid messaging directed to the public and incidentally, promoted by guys at street level (as seen recently in Toronto), there is new ground being broken in unifying presence, power and influence of girls through a volunteering lens. It is an interesting twist to the way efforts were made 20 years ago to promote more girls in science and technology which has yielded increased number of girls in university overall, including science programs.
So are there more girls volunteering than guys? It all depends on where you look, but summertime is a great way to encourage all students to fulfill their high school hour requirements, including grade 8 students entering grade 9 in the fall. It may not pay, but often a free T-shirt is a great incentive!
For opportunities to volunteer in Ottawa, check out the Volunteer Ottawa website http://www.volunteerottawa.ca/vo-clean/index.php?/eng/ or http://www.youth.gc.ca/eng/topics/jobs/volunteer.shtml
Monika Ferenczy, OCT, MEd
Horizon Education Consulting
References
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/27/teens-volunteering-new-da_n_2025240.html
http://www.dosomething.org/blog/teens-and-volunteering
http://becauseiamagirl.ca/page.aspx?pid=3816
http://volunteer.ca/content/fast-facts#sthash.vbkEhG8u.dpuf http://volunteer.ca/content/fast-facts
http://www.womeninprogress.org/?gclid=CNfxyZLeibgCFaVFMgodJjsAZg