The Girl Guides of Canada has changed the name of its Brownies branch to the “Embers.”
While announcing the new name recently, the organization said that the new name applies instantly to its program for girls between ages of seven and eight in an effort to become more inclusive and welcoming.
CEO Jill Zelmanovits revealed that the previous name discouraged some racialized girls and women from being part of the outdoor adventure and activity group and that members welcomed the chance to change that.
Zelmanovits said: “We were really thrilled with the support from within the organization, and especially that girls understood this change.
“When you say to a girl, you know, at a very basic level, this name makes some girls feel like they don’t belong, their automatic reaction is: ‘You should change it.’… What we thought might have been a difficult conversation was not a difficult conversation for them. For them, it was a very automatic response.”
Zelmanovits said current and former members picked “Embers” over “Comets” in an online vote that was conducted between November 29 and December 13 2022.
While talking further, she said it would take many months to update various websites, marketing materials and resources and that the name will be completely adopted by Sept. 1.
Other branches of the Guides are Sparks for those between age five and six; Guides, for those between age nine and 11; Pathfinders, for those between age 12 and 14; and Rangers, for those between age 15 and 17.
It should be recalled that the Guides said they would change the name of the seven and eight-year-old branch in November after hearing from current and former members that the previous name caused harm and was a barrier to joining for racialized girls and women.
Also, Zelmanovits acknowledged the change addresses one “specific concern” and that there “are always more things that organizations can do.”
For one thing, she labelled the Girl Guides of Canada “as overwhelmingly … a non-racialized organization.”
She said: “It’s something that the organization and the board of directors is very conscious of, and obviously (our) mission of and vision – the vision being a better world by girls – (is) we want as many girls as possible to be involved in that, and we want to have girls from every background involved in that.”
Though increasing members was not the aim of the name change, Zelmanovits revealed they’ve already been informed that some families have signed up for the first time due to the change.
She said the eagerness of the Guides’ young members to take action when they see the need always inspires her.
She said: “Sometimes I wish adults could take a page from that because it is a great reaction to just say: Well, if it’s causing harm, you should change it.
“If we just took their lead I think we could probably solve a lot of problems in the world.”
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