This week the GDST released The Girls’ Futures Report 2022; survey findings from 1,358 girls aged between 9 and 18 from a range of state and independent schools across England and Wales.
84% of respondents attended a co-educational school and 16% attended a single sex school. The research investigated the mindset and perspective of young women when they are thinking about their future and their potential impact on the world. The report highlights the conditions that girls need throughout their education and in society to put them in charge of creating their own futures.
Leadership came through strongly throughout the report, but from the standpoint that girls want better role models than today’s political leaders. They want to lead in less irresponsible and unethical ways than what they are currently seeing in the media.
The girls in the study noted that good leaders are inspiring, responsible, ensure individuals are understood and appreciated, have an impressive work ethic, and do not give up easily. The girls also noted that these are qualities they do not see in public-facing leaders today.
Girls in the survey clearly preferred more collaborative models of leadership and that earning the right to lead is a more commendable aspiration than just wanting to be a boss.
At Bromley High School, we absolutely align with these observations. Our girls have a strong understanding of the nuances of what leadership embodies and are looking to challenge some of the stereotypical descriptions of leadership. You can see this when girls show compassion in PSHE discussions, when they navigate fact from fiction in a research project in geography, and when they engage in financial literacy through the careers programme. Our girls hold strong ambitions and passions about what they want to achieve, without compromising on their own wellbeing.
From this we learn that we must continue to empower our girls to challenge traditional models of leadership. To think critically about what good leadership can look like in their future and in different contexts. To balance roles that they enjoy and which make a difference to society, with the importance of job security and pay.
Together, we are building a brighter future for us all.
Read GDST The Girls’ Futures Report 2022
Mrs Emily Codling, Headmistress