Girl Scouts CEO Batty: 'We still need girls-only spaces'
One 16-year-old built a heliport for her community while another built a maternity hospital in her family’s former village in India. Each won the highest honor bestowed by Girl Scouts of the USA -- the Gold Award -- and their achievements serve as examples of leadership that can emerge from scouting, Judith Batty, the the organization's interim chief executive, said at a National Press Club Virtual Headliners event Thursday, Feb. 11.
Batty, the first Black woman to head GSUSA, is a lifetime Girl Scout and daughter of a troop leader, she told Club President Lisa Mathews in an interview. She credits the Scouts with giving her confidence to speak up.
When she was 16, she was one of the first girl delegates to the organization's National Council. She stood and spoke against a resolution to admit boys.
“We still need girls-only spaces,” Batty said Thursday, echoing the stance she took as a teen.
She made a passing reference to rival Boy Scouts of America, which has opened membership to girls, and asserted that GSUSA remains the best place for girls to become leaders for life.
Batty has followed that trajectory. She became senior counsel to a Fortune 100 corporation and the first Black chief executive at one of its overseas operations. She left retirement last summer to become the GSUSA interim chief executive. She plans to stay on the job until a permanent CEO is named.
The Scouts went all virtual once Batty started. Managing the organization during a pandemic is challenging, she said, because it’s harder to get a feel for the organization, its culture and its people without in-person meetings.
Responding to questions from Matthews and questions posed online by Club members and the public, Batty praised the Scouts for reacting so quickly in March to the pandemic.
Its famous Girl Scout cookies are now sold virtually. Under “Cookie Finder” at www.girlscouts.org cookies can be ordered and delivered through Grubhub. Troops handle sales, learn financing and gain experience running a business. Each troop decides how to spend earnings. Baking is done by two contractors.
Scouts welcome transgender members
Policy decisions at GSUSA are made using “a diversity lens,” Batty said.
The organization has expanded recruiting, stressing that all girls can participate, she said. For example, Troop 6000 in New York represents girls in homeless shelters. There are transgender troops in parts of the country.
“We welcome any girl who says she’s a girl,” Batty said. All programs are created to build a girl’s “courage, confidence and character.”
In answer to a question criticizing child labor on farms making palm oil, an ingredient in Girl Scout cookies, Batty said GSUSA belongs to the Round Table for Sustainable Palm Oil. One group member who violated labor policies would be disciplined, she said.
Virtual programs utilized during pandemic
Batty said she hopes Girl Scouts summer camps can reopen. Each jurisdiction must decide and follow Center for Disease Control and Prevention Guidelines. In the meantime, virtual camping is occurring. Batty recently read a nighttime story to one troop in Alabama, which also had breakfast on Zoom.
Virtual programs have been especially good for older scouts, who can “build connections across the country and across the world,” Batty said. Girl Scouts have members overseas, mostly on military bases or in expat communities. She expects virtual events to become “a permanent part of our program.”
As for recruitment, a viewer asked, is membership cost a barrier?
Membership dues are $25 annually, Batty said. But books, trips and travel to events can be costly. All 111 Girl Scout councils provide scholarships.
Batty said she’s also committed to making programs more relevant. Today, girls can get badges in coding and cybersecurity among other science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills.
Wrapping up the Club Headliner event on a sweet note, Batty said the new Girl Scout cookie this year is “Toast-Yay!” -- which has a French Toast flavor.