KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Girl Scouts Northeast Kansas & Northwest Missouri worked alongside women first responders on Saturday.
Catching Fury is an annual event designed for girls to get a feel for the industry. Activities help foster leadership, team-building and give them a basic understanding of the skills needed for a career as a police officer or firefighter.
It's all about breaking stereotypes.
“Honestly, it makes me very upset and disappointed that they think that I can’t do the things that they do when I can clearly do it better,” said Girl Scout Alissa Harris.
Harris is suiting up with courage, learning from those who paved the way and breaking down gender biases.
“I’ve always had respect for women who do, like, men ran jobs. Because I feel that they deserve the same opportunities as men do,” Harris said.
Harris is now considering a job in emergency medical services. She also picked up the drums and became section leader as the only girl on the school drumline.
"Being a Girl Scout in general — it's not all about selling cookies and wearing our uniforms,” Harris said.
Dozens of girls had a chance to participate in various simulations like bucket rides, bystander/infant CPR, self-defense, traffic stop role play, etc. The hope is it will give them the opportunity to decide for themselves whether this is a career path they want to choose.
“We want to show them that this is something, as a young girl, they can be interested in, and it’s okay to be interested in it and show them that they can do this job,” said Capt. Kelsey Whetro with the Kansas City, Missouri, Fire Department.
Catching Fury highlights the importance of building a girl pipeline to fill the gaps in the workforce, especially in male-dominated industries.
“We are definitely underrepresented,” said Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department Capt. Marisa Barnes.
She hopes it will get easier for the next generation of girls.
“I think we’ve proven that we can do the job just as well as men,” Barnes said. “I definitely feel like I had to fight and break down barriers. The fight is not over.”
Joy Wheeler is the CEO of Girl Scouts Northeast Kansas & Northwest Missouri. She believes there is value in fighting for this.
“Girls and women see the world differently, they respond to problems differently, they feel differently. And so when we have a better balance and equity, it makes for a stronger outcome,” Wheeler said.
