For our 150th birthday, we’re launching a groundbreaking report, Girls Speak: Navigating the Conflicts of Girlhood in 2025, highlighting the desperate need to listen to girls as experts in their own lives – including little ones.
In our society, and even within our sector, little girls’ voices are either silenced altogether or buried within classifications of ‘children’, causing gender nuances to be ignored, or as ‘women and girls’, leaving the important age and life stages of younger girls unaddressed.
“Girls have to keep doing stuff that boys want to do and listening to them, because in the world boys are in charge.” (Lexi, 9)
Girls today are raised to believe girls can be anything – and they do believe it. But ‘Girls Speak’, paints a clear picture of the conflict between the feminist ideals girls are taught and believe in, and the gendered reality of their daily lives.
“I know this isn’t true – but every boy in my class says girls can’t do football, basketball…but I do sports every day and I’m good at them. They say we just have to do singing, dancing…but that isn’t true because girls can do anything.” (Niamh, 8)
While young girls may not know academic jargon or buzzwords, we found evidence of gendered challenges and negative experiences happening to girls as young as six.
Over time, the pressure of gender bias and expectations builds up, and by the time girls reach their tween and teen years, they’ve already lost the ability to believe in themselves – as if they were never taught it at all.
The Impact on Girls’ Mental Health
By failing to understand and address the specific needs and experiences of younger girls, society is letting girls down during formative life stages, and setting up cycles of gender inequality to continue.
Despite progress in promoting gender equality, social expectations still limit opportunities for girls, with stereotypes influencing everything from academic choices to friendships.
Girls as young as six are internalising stereotypes about what they can achieve and how they should behave. These stereotypes extend to sports, academic subjects, and even physical appearance. With many girls reporting feeling judged or excluded in areas traditionally dominated by boys, such as football, or discouraged from pursuing interests like STEM subjects.
This leads into the emotional toll school environments can have on girls. Instead of offering security, schools can amplify anxiety, with girls reporting challenges such as managing friendships, dealing with judgment, and coping with the pressure to excel academically.
Meanwhile, access to clean and safe toilets – an issue commonly raised as early as primary school – becomes even more critical during adolescence. These findings highlight how seemingly small systemic issues can have a big impact on girls’ mental health and well-being.
The Power of Early Intervention
GFS’s work is grounded in early intervention, offering girls the vital life-changing support they need before the critical age of 11, when girls’ confidence and self-esteem enter a steep spiral of decline.
GFS groups provide girls with non-competitive, safe spaces where they can develop positive relationships and self-acceptance. By creating environments where girls feel supported and valued, GFS helps them build healthier, more resilient relationships. These spaces enable girls to express themselves without fear of judgment, fostering trust and emotional security.
And by focusing on girls’ voices and shaping groups based on the needs girls directly communicate with us, GFS is empowering them to navigate challenges and resist societal pressures.
This approach is especially crucial for girls in areas of deprivation, where opportunities are scarcer, and barriers to success are higher, which is why GFS prioritises these areas.
The Path Forward
Our milestone anniversary is not just a celebration of the past, but it’s a reminder that even though it’s been 150 years, girls still desperately need GFS.
This research is a reminder of the importance of early intervention and systemic change. It calls on you to support girls on their terms, to give them the support they need.
By prioritising girls’ voices and experiences, we can build a world where girls are able to thrive and build #UnstoppableFutures.
Participant information
Girls’ Speak: Navigating the Conflicts of Girlhood in 2025, has been shaped by girls’ own words, through focus groups and discussions with 112 girls aged six to 16 across England and Wales.
- 83% of participants were under age 11
- 60% of participants were White British and 23% were from other ethnic groups
- 9% had a disability or support need
- 20% accessed a fee waiver, meaning that they do not pay for GFS services.