On 14 January I was lucky enough to attend the 150th anniversary celebration of the Girls Friendly Society (GFS) at the House of Commons, an event supported by Caroline Nokes MP.

GFS, who work to support girls and young women in England and Wales, celebrated this occasion with the launch of the ‘Girls Speak’ report: an insightful piece of research focused on the experience of girls in schools and everyday life from ages 4-16. The report touched on a range of life experiences unique to girls, from issues with periods and school toilets to sport and physical activity. The aim of this report is to show how far we have come in removing barriers in young girls’ lives whilst also understanding how far we still have to go.

It was such an honour to represent Youth Sport Trust on the panel; and we had the hard job of speaking after the incredible GFS girls (aged around 7-14) had shared their stories. As panellists, we answered questions relating to the findings of the report, with a particular focus on the disconnect between what girls are being told they can do, and the reality they actually experience. I answered questions on my experience of being a girl, how we can change the stereotypes that are still affecting young girls (even now during the growth of elite female sport) and how those in power can help close the gap between rhetoric and reality. I would ask anyone reading this to consider these same questions. Are we giving girls unrealistic expectations of how the world will view them? Are we too positive or too negative about our society? How can we align our and young girl’s expectations with the reality they face?

Ultimately, I believe both Youth Sport Trust and I would say giving young girls a voice and the empowerment to make choices is the only way we can make progress. Not all girls are the same and, therefore, we cannot have a single approach to helping them feel more comfortable in their youth. It is programmes such as Girls Active that provide girls with more comfortable environments within which they can express their individuality.

Find out more about Girls Active here.

To finish the panel discussion, I concluded with three key words to remember. These words emphasise why it is important in our work to advance gender equality for girls and ensure the youth voice is brought to the forefront of the conversation:

1. Comfort – we need to provide trusting and open environments for girls because everyone deserves to feel comfortable, and this is how we will keep girls in sport.

2. Control – empowering young girls to use their voices to improve their experiences.

3. Opportunity – being able to express yourself is invaluable. If we teach girls they can make the most of opportunities when they are young, we can empower them to become the changemakers of the future.

The Youth Sport Trust also has some fantastic Youth Voice resources.

The GFS event was a brilliant chance for me to represent my own hopes for the girls of the future, whilst also representing Youth Sport Trust and all the brilliant work we do in this area. This event was both inspiring and empowering, highlighting the importance of my voice, even in esteemed settings such as the House of Commons. Moving forward, we must continue to consider how we can build on this momentum to continue making a difference to young girl’s lives.