My two daughters are growing fast and so this July 4th weekend we decided to go to Target to get some t-shirts. I was so pleasantly surprised by what I found.
I found that Target had completely changed their line, and had rows of awesome t-shirts with inspiring words, fun graphics - and even some geography and science! My 8 year old daughter said after the trip, “Mama it was so strange that Target’s t-shirts actually said stuff that makes you feel powerful!”
Here are some of the inscriptions on the t-shirts in their summer line -
Win like a girl
Kind Heart. Fierce Mind. Brave Soul.
Passion + Heart = Me
Girls Never Give up
How to do a Somersault (this was our favorite!)
Be Strong Brave you
I believe I can so I do
How to share
I have been running an engineering and technology education nonprofit for the past 12 years, trying to spread the message that girls can be powerful innovators, bold leaders, changemakers of tomorrow. It’s been hard work rolling the rock uphill, but its becoming more rewarding to see the environment becoming more receptive to this message.
The most exciting part is to see a big corporation such as Target take this issue head on, and be really gutsy. You cannot please everyone and Target did go through a lot of criticism in 2015 when they got rid of the “pink aisle”. But I am thrilled that they didn’t turn back and in fact are launching line upon new line of products that are not only gender neutral, but have strong, inspiring messages for girls.
The positive impact of these product lines is immense. Just imagine this scene.. A little girl walks in a park wearing a t-shirt that shows the solar system. If an adult stops and comments, it will be most likely a question such as “Are you interested in the solar system?”. Even if the girl isn’t, she will ask her parents later about the solar system, or will at least be reminded about it every time she puts the t-shirt on. She will learn something new or deepen her interest in the solar system.
Up until now however the scene would most likely have been this… The little girl would have worn a pink dress, and the adult would have stopped and said, “What a cute little princess you are”. The girl wouldn’t have known how to reply and would have just smiled. Later she would pay just a tiny bit more attention to what she wore, deepening an interest in clothes and outer appearances. And then schools, teachers and nonprofits like us will spend a large chunk of their time and efforts trying to re-engage girls in middle and high school, rekindling a curiosity about how the world works. And most of the time it maybe just a bit too late. Even now only 20% of women are enrolling in engineering degrees and even fewer in computer science. The princess narrative is a hard one to displace.
But Target may actually have an interesting impact not only on the girls wearing their t-shirts, but also on the children and adults who come in contact with the girls and read these refreshing messages. I ran some numbers and the impact is sizable - much more than what a sole nonprofit or after-school program can bring about.
Target earned ~$70 billion last year. If we assume the average customer spends between $100-$200 per visit, that ~2.65% of purchases are for apparel and a quarter are for children and half of that are for girls, we get a reach of 1.5 million girls. If we conservatively take into account the number of people who may be influenced second-hand, then we get ~147 million people or ~ half of the US population.
It is mind-boggling how much influence a corporation can have on the community with the right messaging. If Walmart, Amazon.com and Kmart follow Target’s lead, then we can reach almost every girl across the nation and encourage her to have a kind heart, fierce mind and brave soul, to be passionate, to never give up and to win like a girl!