Girlguiding has pledged to do more to ensure it is engaging with girls of colour and those from poorer backgrounds

Its ten-year strategy details that since an internal investigation four years ago, which found racism and discrimination at the charity, it has “done a huge amount to build an inclusive culture and prioritise equity, diversity and inclusion”.

“But we know we’re not yet representative of girls in the UK today. This is particularly true of girls of colour and from lower socio-economic backgrounds,” it says.

The strategy for the charity until 2035, adds: “We hear from girls, parents and volunteers that they might not feel Girlguiding is a place for them, or that it wouldn’t fit in with their lives.

“We need to work harder to make Girlguiding accessible to girls and volunteers from all backgrounds. This means adapting to what girls need where they need it.”

Action to be taken includes “collaborating with local and national partners to deliver guiding in multiple ways”.

It says such collaboration is needed “to reach girls we currently don’t”.

The charity also pledges to improve access to activities “in a way that reaches girls in spaces where they are”.

This includes at school, online, in community groups and “in health and social care systems”.

It says work already carried out by its volunteers includes “offering experiences to refugees".

A spokesperson for the charity added that as part of its “ongoing commitment" to make Girlguiding more inclusive it has developed “race equity training” for staff and volunteers and offers guidance to support members with cost of living issues.

Progress made to be more inclusive over the last four years includes increasing the proportion of girls from deprived areas involved in the charity from one in six to one in four.

It also runs a unit in Scotland for children whose parents or carers are in prison and organises virtual sessions for girls who can’t attend activities as they are hospital.

The charity is also working with schools in underrepresented areas to run confidence building sessions.

Work in schools includes a school enrichment session for teenagers at an academy in
Bradford, where more than nine in ten girls are from Asian and Asian British backgrounds.

'Recurring instances of racism'

The charity’s diversity and inclusion audit was published in 2021 and found “equality, diversity and inclusion problems”.

Girls were being excluded based on religion, race, sexuality and disability, this audit found.

Children attending activities “stated reoccurring instances of racism, Islamophobia, homo/bi/transphobia and ableism against girls by leaders and other girls”, it found.

Two years ago, Girlguiding carried out the largest rebrand in its history to tackle “outdated perceptions” of the charity.

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