National Women’s History Museum

Engaging young women in closing the gender equity gap

Services: Youth Co-Creation Design Sessions | Research & Survey Analysis

DSS convened young women for a series of design sessions and fielded the Young Women & Girls’ Aspiration Report to provide the National Women’s History Museum with the data and insights to power their new gender equity campaign.

 

THE REALITY

The U.S. is still 106 years away from gender parity, according to the World Economic Forum. However, 67% of Gen Z men and 47% of Gen Z women believe women already have equal opportunities despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Underrepresentation of women in history books has contributed to the inequities we see today. Women remain underrepresented in politics, economic leadership, STEM, and beyond—which has a cascading effect on innovation, progress, and national security. We partnered with the National Women’s History Museum to investigate young women’s perceptions of the gender equity gap and gather insights to shape a new campaign aimed at galvanizing the resources and support to close it.

OUR APPROACH

In partnership with Carol Cone On Purpose, we convened a cohort of nearly 20 DoSomething members for a series of design sessions to define and co-create the building blocks for this new campaign. The sessions explored how young women consume content about history and how the Women’s History Museum can tell the stories of women—past and present—so younger generations can see themselves represented in any passion, interest, or career they may pursue. To expand our aperture, we used activities such as mock interviews with participants’ role models and rapid prototyping of new storytelling modalities.

Building on this work, we fielded a national survey of over 1,100 young women (ages 13-27) to understand their aspirations and the challenges they face in achieving them. The results of the survey were used to publish the Young Women & Girls’ Aspiration Report, an eye-opening snapshot of the challenges young women and girls continue to face and the urgent changes they are calling for to ensure they are not sidelined for another century.

THE IMPACT

The insights derived from our design sessions and the publication of Young Women & Girls’ Aspiration Report culminated in the launch of She Is Not a Footnote, a bold, transformative campaign focused on helping young women and girls see their potential, build their confidence, and achieve their dreams. Since its launch in March 2025 to commemorate Women’s History Month, the campaign:

  • Secured coverage on major outlets including AP News, Fox News, CBS News Radio, KTLA and Seeking Alpha

  • Generated over 1,800 downloads of the Young Women & Girls’ Aspiration Report

  • Drove 13,000 visits to the She Is Not a Footnote site

  • Led to an immediate fundraising increase of $15,000

  • Built a new community of Gen Z supporters that will help fuel the next chapter of their work

  • Now includes a series of bad-ass videos you can check out below!