Why Girls
Girls up to age 14 are 15.6% of Canada’s population.
Girls and non-binary young people, struggle with unique gendered inequities and stereotypes. The years between nine and 13 are a critical time for their healthy development. Tailored interventions such as girl-focused programs can make a big difference in their health and well-being, sense of connection and belonging, participation and learning, leadership, and healthy relationships as they grow.
Social media is a key consideration. A study found that social media “can have a negative influence on girls’ body image through negative appearance comparisons when viewing images on social media, exacerbating appearance-based concerns and body dissatisfaction. Findings suggested a level of self-objectification among adolescent girls whereby they viewed themselves in relation to their appearance” (Papageorgiou, Fisher, and Cross, 2022).
(Oosten, 2020) discusses the need to teach girls the importance and effectiveness of a critical voice challenging such messages. When adolescent girls have internalized such a critical voice, it is crucial to create a social media environment that fosters social influence processes such as identification and compliance that promote engagement with counter-messages”
Positive mentorship opportunities can help. A pilot study on an urban mentorship program for girls 13 and 14 years old found that the experience positively affected girls’ scholastic competence, social acceptance, physical appearance, job competence, behavioural conduct, romance, close friendships, and overall self-worth (Moore, Stephens, and Kelly, 2022).
Although girls in Canada often excel in academics, there is a notable gap in STEM fields. Women earn only 30% of all STEM degrees in Canada, indicating a gender disparity that begins early in the educational journey. Addressing barriers to girls’ participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics is essential to closing this gap.
While girls may perform well in academics, this success does not always translate into leadership roles later in life. Women in Canada hold about a third (35.6%) of management occupations, and 30.9% of senior management level occupations, and only 6.2% of women-held board and management spots are held by women of colour, pointing to a need for early leadership development and empowerment initiatives.
All of these Stats can be found on the Canadian Women’s Foundation website.
Between ages nine and 13, girls face a sharp decline in mental health and confidence.
(Boyce, King, and Roche, Public Health Agency of Canada, 2008)
Girls and young women experience [abuse] at a rate seven times higher than boys and young men. When broken down by age group, the rate is three times higher for girls 11 and under, and nine times higher for girls 12 to 17 (Conroy, Statistics Canada, 2018).
A lack of confidence and sense of restriction due to gender stereotypes may cause girls to question their abilities to succeed in traditionally male subjects. This is supported by research that girls who attend all-girls schools are twice as likely to study physics in university compared to girls who attend co-ed schools (Institute of Physics, 2012).
Canadian Women and Sport (2016) says, “Although a majority of girls participate in sport in their early years, evidence points to significant declines in sport participation in the transition to adolescence, with a sharper decline in girls’ participation rates than boys at this stage of life. Girls are often discouraged from participating when they feel they lack competence or fundamental skills in sport, or when they do not find value in the sport. Adolescence is a pivotal time for predicting whether or not a girl will continue to participate in sports as she grows older. Alarmingly, as girls enter adolescence, their overall participation rate drops by 22%, and school sport participation drops by almost 26%.”
Mental well-being is another critical issue, with approximately 25% of girls aged 12-17 reporting symptoms consistent with mental health concerns such as anxiety and depression. Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death for girls up to 14.
