THE CONCERN
“In a survey of 1,000 15 to 19-year old girls, 80% chose glamour models as their main role model.”
There are several issues present in the topic of what it means to “take the lead” as a female. Firstly, female leadership in any context has been repressed for generations. Secondly, female leadership in traditionally male-dominated contexts has been heavily discouraged for decades. Thirdly, where female leadership may take place, for instance in lone-parent families, it is made to seem either inferior, or inevitable, or the last resort. Fourthly, female leadership has been presented in such a way that it is essentially bound up with institutional matters (within education, the labour market, or the family), yet female leadership is also, and especially, concerned with females feeling disempowered, disadvantaged inadequate, and/or inferior within themselves.
The aspirations of young women have seen a steady decline in recent years, following such worldwide revolutionary movements such as the feminist revolution in the mid-late 20th century. To this end, there has been a significant lack of positive female role models in key culture-changing areas (such as celebrity culture, the mass media, or music and fashion); and the confidence she needs to possess in order to step outside of her comfort zone has become inextricably tied to a devalued sense of her identity and a disbelief in her potential.
THE OPPORTUNITY
Steps have certainly been taken at a structural level to address these issues, but these are empty attempts to change what ultimately relies on the embedding of a positive and empowered message for generations after generations of girls on the ground level. It is our aim to inspire a generation of women to lead a life full of realised potential, fulfilment and step into a steady and guided amount of growth