Girl Scouts accuse Boy Scouts of ‘damaging’ recruitment war tactics.

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The Girl Scouts are in a “highly damaging” recruitment war with the Boy Scouts after the latter opened its core services to girls, leading to marketplace confusion and some girls unwittingly joining the Boy Scouts, lawyers for the century-old Girl Scouts organization claim in court papers.
....In a statement, the Boy Scouts said it expanded program offerings for girls “after years of requests from families” who wanted their boys and girls both participating in its character and leadership programs.
....The Girls Scouts said they can prove there are “rampant instances of confusion and mistaken instances of association between Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts” after the Boy Scouts targeted girls and their parents with marketing and recruiting communications in ways it never has before.
....In spring 2018, the Boy Scouts program for 11- to 17-year-olds announced it would change its name to Scouts BSA in early 2019. The parent organization, the Boy Scouts of America, and the Cub Scouts, a program serving children from kindergarten through fifth grade, kept their names.
The organization started admitting girls into the Cub Scouts in August 2018, and Scouts BSA began accepting girls in February, 2019, lawyers said. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/dec/27/girl-scouts-boy-scouts-lawsuit-recruitment-war

Oops. Should have said it's the U.S. scouts.

The Girl Scouts (our Guides) has never been happy that BSA wanted to admit girls.

I remember reading about this a few years ago, apparently Boy Scouts membership was dropping whilst Girl Scouts was thriving, until the Boy Scouts started admitting girls.

Are Girl and Boy Scouts broadly similar in the US with regards to the activities offered?

My DD refused guides (in the UK) as it was girl only and she is much happier in a mixed environment. Girl scouts should look at what they are offering if they are losing girls to the boys side. It looks a lot more fun to me (much more survival wilderness less baking/painting)

much more survival wilderness less baking/painting

Indeed. I remember being required to do my "Hostess" badge at Guides. I left soon afterwards as it bored me senseless.

I must have been lucky - my Guides memories are all to do with yomping around woods on various find things/follow trails and set trails missions, building and cooking on fires, building shelters, camping in atrocious weather (12 of us on a floating ground sheet trying to share one chalet school novel), a lot of fabulous singing and music, and playing rounders in dusk/dark which looking back on it was probably lethal.

It was great. I did lots of mixed group stuff too, but the girls' only opportunities were lovely to have.

I have great Guide memories. But comparing the Guide and scout programmes in the UK currently, I've enjoyed being an adult leader in Scouts more, and my daughters have enjoyed the programme more. But I know other girls who love the Guides.

If recruitment in GSA is suffering, they need to look at why, not just blame BSA.

@MichelleofzeResistance

I must have been lucky - my Guides memories are all to do with yomping around woods on various find things/follow trails and set trails missions, building and cooking on fires, building shelters, camping in atrocious weather (12 of us on a floating ground sheet trying to share one chalet school novel), a lot of fabulous singing and music, and playing rounders in dusk/dark which looking back on it was probably lethal.

It was great. I did lots of mixed group stuff too, but the girls' only opportunities were lovely to have.

Same, I assume it depends on whoever is in charge, ours did some baking largely if it was too wet and cold outside, but most of my memories are active and outdoorsy.

I wouldn't have gone if it had been mixed sex tbh.

If I had girl children who wanted to be in one or the other of Scouts or Guides in the UK, at the moment I would prefer it if they joined the Scouts simply for lack of ambiguity. I expect the Scouts will have worked out sensible sleeping arrangements to keep the males and females separate, in 1989 when they started to take girls at all.

Funnily enough, I was just reminiscing about my time in the guides as I had just found my old handbook.

Some of the old badges were quite a challenge and some of the skills in the handywomen badge would stand a young person in good stead. The syllabus for the Hostess badge was quite dull and annoyingly straddles 2 pages so I haven't included it

I remember learning to strike matches at Brownies and how to wire a plug at Guides!

I was a patrol leader

It was a bit of a nightmare to be honest, i had a number of virtually uncontrollable girls...the other patrols would sit around working on badges and i had to play quite violent games of football with mine in an attempt to knacker them out

And one of them kept bringing in their dads porn mags 😩

And i still have no idea which one of them nicked the patrol box

@RufustheSniggeringReindeer

I was a patrol leader

It was a bit of a nightmare to be honest, i had a number of virtually uncontrollable girls...the other patrols would sit around working on badges and i had to play quite violent games of football with mine in an attempt to knacker them out

And one of them kept bringing in their dads porn mags 😩

And i still have no idea which one of them nicked the patrol box

After the previous post about learning to light fires, I was going to say it;s a bit St.Trinians. Your post means I'm now working on the screenplay.

The link refers to the US organisations which are quite seperate to the UK ones.
The guiding programme has been quite radically updated recently. The hostess badge is no more.
The vibe of a unit is definitely set by the leaders style. Lots are quite crafty but many are pretty outdoorsy and active.

Girl Scouts is highly decentralized so the activities are based on what the troop leaders decide. Also, anyone can make a troop (subject to paperwork/fees), so if you / your kid doesn’t like what’s going on you can make your own or join another. There are plenty of activities for all interests. Definitely they push in their advertising a lot about STEM and entrepreneurship.

Boy Scouts has a more specific focus on the outdoors / survival IME. But again you can get a badge in almost anything.