April 25 is the tenth celebration of the annual Take Our Daughters to Work Day, a project the Ms. Foundation for Women developed to expose girls to expanding opportunities for women in the workplace.

Thousands of people, including many members of the National Organization for Women, take girls to their workplace on the fourth Thursday in April because Take Our Daughters to Work Day promotes an idea that NOW advances for all girls: You can be anything you want to be.

The program offers millions of girls a first-hand view of the many career opportunities available in their futures. Now that women make up 46 percent of the U.S. work force, girls can find role models in every occupational field — from politics to molecular biology to professional athletics, to name just a few. Take Our Daughters to Work Day encourages girls to focus on their abilities and opportunities, not just their appearance.

The Ms. Foundation for Women developed the project more than a decade ago to address the self-esteem problems that many girls experience when they enter adolescence. At school, boys often receive more encouragement in the classroom, especially in math, science and computers, the academic fields that tend to lead to the highest salaries.

Women receive on average only 73 cents for every dollar that men are paid, and remain vastly underrepresented in top executive positions and technology fields. The fastest-growing occupations require advanced computer skills that many girls are not acquiring. Take Our Daughters to Work Day aims to give girls the confidence and inspiration they need to develop successful careers, particularly in non-traditional fields.

"The workplace is unfortunately still not a level playing field, but Take Our Daughters to Work Day succeeds on two fronts," said NOW President Kim Gandy, who has two young daughters. "It gives companies a chance to demonstrate their commitment to advancing opportunities for women, and it inspires girls to expand their horizons and think about a future career."

The Ms. Foundation provides program materials to encourage employers, schools and communities to participate in Take Our Daughters to Work Day. Many employers recognize the annual event and encourage employees without daughters to "adopt" girls for the day from local programs such as the Girl Scouts and the YWCA. Many schools grant excused absences so girls can participate in the program.

Perhaps because the program has become so widespread and successful, Take Our Daughters to Work Day has been criticized for excluding boys, but the event's organizers believe it would not succeed as a co-educational program. Treating boys and girls as if they face identical constraints and opportunities fails to address either boys' or girls' realities.

"Through Take Our Daughters To Work Day, millions of girls have witnessed women in non-traditional occupations — drafting legislation, managing small and large businesses, and training to go to the moon," said Sara K. Gould, executive director of the Ms. Foundation. She added that we should also show boys "that becoming a child care provider is as acceptable a choice as becoming a police officer or CEO."