Girls Out Loud

Being a teenage girl in the world today is a challenge. Attempts to retain an element of individuality are threatened daily by the media, celebrity culture, peer pressure and bullying, lack of positive strong female role models, privacy invasion and misuse of the internet, to name a few.

This backdrop is leading to a generation of girls arriving at puberty with an identity crisis. Eating disorders, body dysmorphia, self-harming, panic attacks and exam anxiety, are just some of the symptoms apparent in their behaviour.

Girls Out Loud is a 12-month mentoring programme with the aim of empowering girls to have a positive sense of self, to set personal boundaries, use their initiative and to believe they are worth more. These are all necessary life skills if we are to make a dent in the unacceptable lack of parity across all sectors and all levels in the female talent pipeline.

The mentoring programme for teenage girls is called Big Sister. It involved us recruiting and training role models from diverse backgrounds to mentor teenage girls for 12 months. The girls attend 3 workshops, have monthly 1-2-1 meetings with their assigned mentor and a celebratory graduation to conclude. The emphasis of the programme is to embed a more empowering mindset in girls, which in turn, reconnects them to education, helps them achieve exam success and broaden their aspirations, encourages them to find their individual voice, take risks, make better life decisions, improve their self-image and become role models for future generations.