New study finds teen girls are just as ambitious as boys, despite feeling more objectified

A long way to go.

A new study undertaken by Plan International has given us a look into adolescents’ beliefs around gender equality.

The survey, of 1,000 10 to 19-year-olds, has discovered that while young women are sitting fairly evenly with men in terms of career ambition and professional empowerment, they’re still feeling overly sexualised.

Around 71 per cent of females and 75 per cent of males agreed that having a successful career is a very important life goal, however, 50 per cent of respondents agreed strongly or somewhat agreed they were “more comfortable with women having traditional roles in society, such as caring for children and family.”

Further, only 51 per cent of boys strongly agreed they wanted “equal numbers of men and women to be leaders in work, politics, and life.”

There was also a large disparity on the topic of sexism, with 51 per cent of girls saying they thought sexism was a big problem, compared with only 19 per cent of boys. Almost half of girls between 14 and 19 also reported hearing boys make sexual comments about girls on a daily basis.

On a more positive note, when it comes to ambitions – from political to starting a family – both boys and girls reported similar responses.

You can read the full study here.

planusa.org