According to new research by Inspiring Girls International and Barbie Mattel, girls do not have access to enough women role models. The good news is that there is a simple solution: women becoming more visible, in a more authentic manner, online.
I grew up with little access to women role models. Most women of my generation did. It is not surprising that a little girl from a small Spanish village during the 70s, who dreamt of becoming a lawyer or a politician, did not have role models. Women simply did not play those roles in my country at that time. The only role model who was available to me was my mum.
A lot of things have changed for women since then. In the UK there have been three women Prime Ministers and there are many women CEOs. Women now score high in business, in many professions, in the arts. They are acing it at all sorts of sports, including traditionally male dominated ones. Even in sectors where there are not enough women, like science and tech, they have started to reach the very top. And those are just the prominent ones, because there are women role models everywhere. Just look around you and the chances are that you are surrounded by amazing women – at every level, from every background and age – no matter where you are.
And yet, almost half of girls in the UK aged 5-16 say they have less than 2 women role models in their lives. That is only one more role model than I had half a century ago! Very often one of those role models is, as it was for me, their mum. It is shocking that girls are still struggling to see and have access to all the many wonderful role models that exist nowadays. And it is not because of lack of interest from the girls: 82% of UK girls aged 5-16 think that it is indeed important for them to have role models, and a staggering 88% believe that seeing women doing different jobs will inspire them to give it a try.
One of the most interesting points of the research is that 79% of girls aged 12-16 find their role models online. Contrary to what it may seem, that is actually great news because making role models available online requires little effort. And it can be done at scale. But it requires women doing two things that they do not often do: seek visibility online and, crucially, do so in an authentic way. Many women struggle with this. I often despair for example at the way top women in tech and other sectors project a hyper-curated image of themselves.
Making women role models available to girls online in an authentic way is precisely the objective of the #ThisLittleGirlIsMe campaign from Inspiring Girls. It runs at the beginning of every October around International Day of the Girl and it has already reached 48.5m people all over the world. Participating is simple: just post a picture or video of yourself when you were a girl on your social media platform of choice, say what advice you would give to that girl using the hashtag #ThisLittleGirlIsMe and tag Inspiring Girls. The only requirement is: be yourself. Girls can look at all the stories using the hashtag and be inspired by them - and we will also make sure these messages are heard in the work we do in schools around the world.
92% of girls tell us that the campaign makes a positive difference to the way they feel about their career opportunities and their future. That is a pretty big impact for something that just takes a few minutes of our time. So no excuses: start posting right now!