LEADING CORPORATE WOMEN HELP LAUNCH A NEW GIRLS' NETWORK

LEADING CORPORATE WOMEN HELP LAUNCH
A “NEW GIRLS' NETWORK”
Goldman Sach's Abby Cohen, Mattel's Jill Barad, and #1 Bestselling Author Suze Orman Head Drive to Build Girls' Financial Skills

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

March 25, 1999

NEW YORK CITY — A new group of women is being groomed to challenge the old boys' network — their median age is 12. These girls are members of Girls Incorporated, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to inspiring all girls to be strong, smart, and bold(sm), and they are participating in the innovative and growing Girls Inc. Economic Literacy Initiative. The program received a big boost today when leading women from the financial and business community turned out to join the campaign. Jill Barad, Chairman and CEO of Mattel, Inc., #1 bestselling author Suze Orman, and Goldman Sachs' Abby Joseph Cohen announced their support today during the Girls Inc. 1999 Celebration Luncheon at the New York Hilton.

“Corporate America has realized that investing in girls now will pay big dividends for everyone in the years to come. The support of this powerful group of people is truly heartening,” said Isabel Carter Stewart, Girls Inc. National Executive Director.

The Girls Inc. Economic Literacy Initiative builds girls' skills and confidence in money management and shows them the ways in which money shapes our world. The first piece of the campaign, Money Matters: An Economic Literacy Action Kit for Girls, developed with generous support from the American Express Foundation, became available today.

Money Matters is a do-it-yourself resource intended to encourage girls to be strong, smart, and bold about money and finance by learning the basics of money management, understanding the impact of money on their community, and confronting their own financial priorities. Several additional products, including a series of educational curricula, are in the pipeline.

“I'd like to see the Money Matters action kit in the hands of every girl in America,” said Kenneth Chenault, President and COO of the American Express Company, a major supporter of the Girls Inc. Economic Literacy Initiative.

“Girls Inc. does much more than simply teach girls how to manage their money. They give girls the tools they need to design their own financial futures. It's a mission I believe in strongly,” noted Ms. Orman.

The initiative is based on Girls Inc. research into the attitudes of girls and women toward money. A national Louis Harris & Associates survey commissioned and released by Girls Inc. last year revealed that girls obtain most of their information about financial matters from their mothers. However, an earlier study conducted by Oppenheimer Funds, Inc. in conjunction with Girls Inc. showed that 75% of women polled wish they had learned more about money while growing up and are unsure about their own skills and knowledge.

“While girls told us they look to their mothers for financial education, mothers told us that they do not feel secure in this role. We were not surprised to find that this uncertainty is passed down to young girls. Our goal is to break this cycle,” Ms. Stewart stated, “and enable girls to grow into confident, independent financial managers.”

Several high-ranking women from throughout the business world accepted awards from Girls Inc. at the 1999 Celebration Luncheon, including:

• Abby Joseph Cohen, Managing Director, Goldman, Sachs & Company

• Bridgette P. Heller, General Manager, GEVALIA Kaffe

• Andrea Jung, President, Avon Products Inc.

• Suze Orman, bestselling author, The Courage to Be Rich

• Veronica Pollard, Vice President, Toyota Motor Corporate Services of North America

Anne M. Tatlock, President of Fiduciary Trust Company International, received the Corporate Vision Award on behalf of the company.

The Luncheon was chaired by:

• Jill Barad, President and CEO, Mattel, Inc.

• Kenneth Chenault, President and COO, American Express Company

• Ingrid Saunders Jones, Vice President, The Coca Cola Company

• William S. Shanahan, COO, Colgate-Palmolive Company

Order Money Matters: An Economic Literacy Action Kit for Girls