Girls Deserve Inclusion in Boys Nation

Women have been told throughout their lives that true equality means accessibility to all basic rights, including education, political participation, and more, regardless of gender. Yet, true equality has been and continues to be denied to women. We know because we recently experienced it as participants in the first co-ed Boys and Girls State program — the female delegates were given no opportunity to advance to the national level.

We were selected as rising seniors in our respective high schools to be delegates for California Boys and Girls State — a prestigious program replicating each state’s government from top to bottom. The program has produced many notable alumni, such as star basketball player Michael Jordan and President Bill Clinton. The program aims to instill leadership qualities in every delegate equally. As delegates, the program gave us the voice to express ourselves as young men and women who will be crucial to shaping our country’s future. We will be forever grateful for the experience of California Boys and Girls State and appreciate their step in making the program co-ed. However, we must persevere in the battle to achieve gender equality.

Upon the program’s completion, the culmination of our hard work laid the promise of potentially attending the coveted Boys Nation. Boys Nation is a mock U.S. Senate that consists of two “senators” (delegates) from each of 49 states who meet in Washington, D.C., to pass legislation, visit various federal agencies, and meet the president of the United States in the Rose Garden.

Some may argue that girls should just attend Girls Nation. And, it’s true, there is a Girls Nation and Girls State program, but they are operated by the American Legion Auxiliary — an entirely separate program. Boys State and Boys Nation are operated by the American Legion. Historically, programs funded by the American Legion have had significantly more funding and greater opportunities; this led to California’s enactment of Senate Bill 363 in 2021. While the bill did allow for Boys State and Girls State to remain gender segregated, it was under the condition both programs have substantially similar access to facilities, number of participants, funding, and more. The American Legion and ALA attempted to fulfill the bill’s requirements to be exempt from it. However, they were unsuccessful, leading to the American Legion’s decision to make Boys State co-ed.

What programs like Girls State and Girls Nation have done, however, is show that girls have been and can be successful at the state and national levels. And since Boys State went co-ed, girls have proved beyond a reasonable doubt they can be successful alongside their male counterparts. Multiple girls were elected to state positions at Boys and Girls State in California, most notably lieutenant governor, the second highest position in the program.

Despite all their achievements, girls were denied the opportunity to advance to the national level from California Boys and Girls State. This disparity devastates the progress made in breaking gender barriers and denies girls the chance to develop their leadership skills further and contribute to meaningful discussions and decisions at the national level.

Boys and girls alike from California have shown their support for having nondiscriminatory practices in the selection process for Boys Nation. During the program, the Senate unanimously passed “The Boycott Bill,” a proposed boycott if California Boys and Girls State did not send a qualified girl to Boys Nation, and the Assembly passed it with an overwhelming majority. Furthermore, delegates later gathered at the Boys and Girls State forum to advocate for their cause to the senior staff members, hoping to obtain fair and equal interviews for Boys Nation for their female candidates. Instead, females were given the opportunity to interview for Outstanding Citizen, a new award created by the staff and given to four female delegates, as they had no opportunity for Boys Nation.

Nobody should be left behind. We’ve grown up in a generation that has promised equality in education, resources, and rights. Our government was trusted to secure inclusion for all of us, regardless of gender. We know promises are not always kept, but we have the power to mend what is broken. The time for change is now. As readers, we urge you to advocate alongside us as we fight for nondiscriminatory practices so girls are granted a fair and equal opportunity to attend Boys Nation.