What Girls Need

More about the book

A former White House strategist and fighter jet pilot now leads one of the country's top girls' schools, shedding light on how parents and educators can nurture ambition in girls. What do girls need to thrive? Marisa Porges, a Baldwin School alumna, grew up in an environment fostering strong, independent women. After earning a BA in geophysics from Harvard, she pursued her dream of flying jets for the US Navy and served as a counterterrorism expert in Afghanistan and the Obama administration. In 2016, she returned to The Baldwin School, where she recognized how pivotal moments in her early education equipped her with the tools to excel in traditionally male-dominated fields. This work combines lessons from her career with innovative practices at The Baldwin School, aimed at helping girls develop essential skills for future leadership. Traditional views of leadership often labeled assertive traits as "unfeminine," pressuring women to conform to male norms. However, definitions of leadership are evolving, with women now redefining traits like grit, resilience, and self-confidence. Porges aims to empower the next generation to embrace their unique strengths—such as empathy and collaboration—that will shape the leaders of tomorrow.