Rising Leaders: How Young Girls Can Build Confidence and Lead with Purpose.

For the longest time, young girls have been socialized to be silent and not lead. Culture marginalizes girls, primarily through stereotypes, and this kills their self-esteem at a young age. Society tends to assign rigid roles, such as telling girls to be ‘nice, polite, or obedient,’ which discourages them from being assertive, ambitious, and competitive.

Creating unrealistic beauty standards for young girls promotes an unattainable idea of beauty in the media, advertisements, and also through social media. The constant exposure to filtered photos always leads to body dissatisfaction and, even worse, the feeling of not being “good enough” unless they look a certain way as portrayed in the media space. This endless cycle leads to young girls underestimating their abilities, making them less confident and unlikely to speak up even when they have something valuable to contribute.

Despite the challenges girls face, we can create a world where girls feel empowered and can be their authentic selves. Creating safe spaces for them where they can speak up, take risks, and even define their worth would go a long way in confidence boosting. Below are some of the ways young girls can build confidence and lead with purpose.

Starting Early

The early stages of life are when children are nurtured and taught about life occurrences. This is the stage where they learn not only by hearing but also by seeing. This is a crucial time to build a strong foundation for a girl’s confidence. Children mainly absorb messages from those around them. At the age of three, they can already notice the differences in how boys and girls are treated. Being a role model as an adult is also very important, and children learn to model confidence and self-compassion by what they see.

Encouraging girls to play rough, climb, and jump helps them learn about building bodily confidence as well as teaching them their own physical limits and strengths. Allowing girls to make choices of what they want gives them a sense of agency and teaches them that their voices, choices, and decisions matter. By doing this, it becomes very easy for young girls to compete fairly with young boys in leadership forums.

For example, suppose a girl is exposed to different professions, especially those that are believed to be ‘boys/men’ professions. In that case, it helps her to see that she can be anything she wants to be, regardless of her gender.

Education

It is through education that girls acquire the skills and knowledge they need to become leaders. Being aware of what to do and say builds lasting confidence. Education teaches girls to think independently and even question and give opinions about the world around them, including the gender norms they have been taught about. In a school environment where girls study with their peers, they are more likely to engage in class, ask questions, and take academic risks. This supportive network helps girls navigate any social pressures they come across and builds the resilience they need to stand up for themselves and others, and that is how leaders are born.

Mentorship

Mentorship acts as a tangible example for what’s possible, especially if girls have female mentors and role models. Mentors could be trusted family members, teachers, coaches, or leaders in the community. Mentorship creates a safe environment for girls to share their ideas, views, fears, and ambitions without fear of judgment, and to receive guidance and encouragement. The consistent encouragement and constructive feedback from a mentor helps a girl identify her own strengths and potential.

When small victories are celebrated, it helps young girls to develop belief in their own abilities. Mentorship opens doors for empowerment workshops where young girls can learn public speaking, body positivity, financial literacy, and assertive communication.

Challenge Gender Stereotypes.

Gender stereotypes are everywhere, at home, in the media, and even in the toys we buy to play with. If we can actively challenge these retrogressive stereotypes, girls would feel safe, confident, and empowered to lead. Choose movies and books where women are strong protagonists as scientists and leaders to discourage one-sided beliefs about career choices. At home, chores should be shared equally among all members so that girls are not exclusively responsible for the “feminine chores” like cooking and cleaning. These small responsibilities and interests send a powerful message that one’s gender does not determine roles.

Encourage Imperfection.

Girls should be allowed to try new things even if they are not sure about their success. A safe space encourages imperfection, that it is okay to make mistakes. Celebrating efforts over imperfection teaches young girls to be resilient and fearless in what they do. For example, if a girl is willing to join a debate team, she should be allowed to enter. In case she fails, she should be reminded that it’s through failure that we all learn, and it is not a reflection of her worth.

Redefine Success

The society should reconsider the focus on how young girls perceive their capabilities. Even the language of praise should be changed, as this is the best way to redefine what success looks like. For example, instead of praising a girl for being ‘sweet’, praise her for being creative, strong, smart, and persistent. This slight shift in language teaches young girls that value stems from their abilities and character, rather than their appearance.

Summary

In conclusion, empowering young girls to build confidence and lead with purpose does not require a single action. Instead, it is a continuous journey from childhood, which requires us to change our ways as communities and societies in how we raise and perceive our girls. Where the world presents an obstacle like creating unrealistic beauty standards and retrogressive cultural beliefs and stereotypes, we have the power to make a supportive and safe environment for our girls to thrive.

We should change our focus from how young girls look to what they can do. It is about the continuous nurturing and celebrating girls’ efforts over flawless results. Ultimately, in a world that tries to hold girls back, our job is to lift them by intentionally creating safe spaces, encouraging them to use their voices to speak their minds, and empowering them to pursue their passions. Girls need to know that they have the power to lead with purpose and change the world for the better.