Girls can do anything that boys can – but society still finds that a hard thing to accept

Catherine Young is motivated to empower young women

Today is International Day of the Girl Child – a day to raise awareness of the rights of girls and importantly, to highlight the challenges girls face around the world.

In so many ways there has never been a better time to be a girl. Since the UN declared October 11 to be International Day of the Girl Child in 2011, more girls are getting the start they deserve in life with better access to basic rights like education and healthcare.

Slowly people around the world are recognising the incredible potential that girls have as the inventors, entrepreneurs and leaders of tomorrow.

But there’s still a long way to go – both around the world and right here at home – as new research by Girlguiding has shown. This year’s Girls’ Attitudes’ Survey – the largest survey of girls’ and young women’s views in the UK, found that more than half of girls age 7-21 change how they behave because of the pressure they feel to conform to gender stereotypes.

More than half of girls said gender stereotypes affected their ability to say what they think, how they behave around their peers, what they wear and even what sport and exercise they do.

These statistics are disheartening, but from my own experience I can say they’re not all that surprising, as someone with passion for STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, maths) who hopes to study and pursue a career in engineering.

However, the response I’ve had from my peers and even some adults hasn’t always been encouraging and I’ve often found myself subjected to gender stereotypes.

“That’s a boys’ subject” and “engineering isn’t for girls” are just some of the comments I’ve received – leaving me to feel out of place, or unsure of my ability to achieve in class. When I spoke to my friends I discovered I wasn’t alone and lots of girls our age were facing similar pressures. So I decided I wanted to do something about it.

That’s when I got involved in Action for Change, a joint project by Girlguiding & Girlguiding Scotland, that gives girls the skills and support to take action and campaign for change on an issue they’re passionate about. I started by finding out what girls and young women think about STEM subjects, how many of them have the opportunity to study these in school and what challenges they face.

I wasn’t sure how far my survey would go but I was delighted when I got responses from 200 girls sharing their stories and experiences.

While it was encouraging to see so many girls say that they enjoyed STEM subjects, or would like an opportunity to study them, many of their experiences echoed my own, with girls feeling like STEM subjects were somehow off-limits or just for boys.

This has meant I feel even more motivated to share my findings with educators, MSPS and others who have the power to make a difference.

I’m proud that as a member of