I launched Inspiring Girls Internationalin 2016. Our mission is simple: to connect girls all around the world with a diverse range of role models. Women who inspire them to choose freely whatever they want to do in life without any social pressure from gender stereotypes. And who also inspire them to work hard to achieve their dreams, whatever they might be. Because that is their right!
We have gone from strength to strength and I am proud to say that we now have female role models going back to schools to inspire girls in 27 countries around the world from Australia and Russia to the USA and Venezuela! From financial education clubs in Mexico to robotics workshops in Spain or inspirational talks with business women in Morocco, our local teams could not be any busier. The world is full of female role models, amazing women from all walks of life who normally do not make it to newspapers, TV or magazines, but who are wonderful role models to girls. All that we do is to connect them, and then the magic of inspiration happens.
We constantly strive to make this as easy as possible for girls, which is why we bring the role models to schools and we also do remote sessions with them using our Video Hub. But where do girls spend a lot of time in addition to schools? On social media! Which is why for International Day of the Girl this year we made it our mission to flood social media with female role models by launching the #ThisLittleGirlIsMe campaign.
Research from The Female Lead shows that 93% of girls felt they had higher personal and career aspirations after following inspirational women figures on social media. So we are asking women to post a photo of themselves as a little girl and reflect on their own ambitions at that age and the trajectory their life has taken to show young girls the diversity of paths life can take. And once all those stories and pictures are in social media by the International Day of the Girl on 11 October, we will be calling on young girls around the world to follow at least one of those inspiring women. At least one - it is simple! Because by doing so their social feeds will keep suggesting other inspirational women to follow. And we would have created a snowball effect of inspirational content for girls to be reminded of those inspiring journeys as they go forward on their own paths.
We have already been lucky enough to have extremely prominent women with world-wide recognition post about the campaign including (but certainly not limited to!) Annie Lennox, Diane Russet, Billie Jean King, Sheryl Sandberg, Lillee Jean, Martina Navratilova, June Sarpong and Jessie Li. But beyond engaging all these women who are helping us give volume to the campaign, the main objective is to shine a light on the many female role models who are currently unknown. Because girls need diverse female role models. And because every woman has a story inside her that could be the spark of inspiration a young girl needs to believe in herself.
Throughout the campaign we have been in awe of the women who are the unsung heroes of their communities coming forward to share their journeys. My particular favourite was a young woman who works in a supermarket and throughout the COVID pandemic has come to realise how pivotal her work is. But this is just the tip of the iceberg! The campaign has been labelled by LinkedIn as having created the most “buzz” in the history of the platform and Instagram is flooded with stories of inspirational women. Women from all walks of life. Because you do not need to be a heroine or to be “successful'' to be a great role model. All that you need is your authentic self!
So share your own story today, it could not be more simple. Just find a picture of yourself as a young girl, tell us about your ambitions at that age and a piece of advice you would have given to you younger self. Then tag us on Instagram @inspiringgirlsint and use the hashtag #ThisLittleGirlIsMe.
Remember, you could be just the role model a little girl needs!