Meet a good leader: Confident, smart, organised – and to a majority of Canadian youth, a man.
That’s according to a new survey on leadership from Plan International Canada, a children’s rights group. It found only 10 per cent of Canadian youth picture a woman when they think of a CEO.
The survey, commissioned to mark International Day of the Girl, found that boys and girls attribute confidence as the top-rated trait a good leader should possess, followed by smart and organised. But while 75 per cent of girls and young women have confidence in their ability to lead, only 55 per cent describe themselves as confident and 81 per cent at least occasionally doubt they have what it takes to be a good leader.
Nanos conducted an online survey of 1,145 girls and 1,065 boys in Canada, between 14 and 24 years of age, between September 15 to 24, 2019.
The results suggest that despite progress, gender-related stereotypes and perceptions still pose barriers to leadership for girls. Nearly six in ten girls say they occasionally feel pressure to change how they act in order to achieve their leadership aspirations (57 per cent), and boys are more likely to describe girls as caring (54 per cent) or emotional (53 per cent) rather than confident (32 per cent).
“For the second year in a row our data clearly shows girls and young women in this country are ready and able to lead, but perceptions are still holding them back,” says Caroline Riseboro, President & CEO of Plan International Canada. “Although girls are confident in themselves, we need to change the status quo so they have the unwavering support in all areas of their lives that enables achieving their leadership aspirations, whatever they may be.”
Canadian girls most often selected the words confident (76 per cent of girls); organised (76 per cent of girls), supportive (69 per cent of girls) and smart (67 per cent of girls) when asked to describe a good leader.
Girls most often say education is the tool they need to achieve their leadership goals (20 per cent), and they most often say they have access to it (24 per cent).
ON LEADERSHIP
Canadian girls most often selected the words confident (76 per cent of girls); organized (76 per cent of girls), supportive (69 per cent of girls) and smart (67 per cent of girls) when asked to describe a good leader.
Girls most often say education is the tool they need to achieve their leadership goals (20 per cent), and they most often say they have access to it (24 per cent).
ON PERCEPTIONS
53 per cent of boys and young men surveyed described girls as emotional but only 10 per cent used the adjective to describe a good leader.
57 per cent of boys and young men surveyed chose strong as a top adjective to describe a good leader, but only 31 per cent of boys and young men describe girls as strong.
Nearly half of Canadian girls (49 per cent) believe the boys sports teams at their high school were treated better and had a higher status than the girls’ teams.
More than seven in ten (72 per cent) of Canadian girls think the girls and women do more or somewhat more household chores compared to the boys or men in their home.
ON MENTORSHIP
Among Canadian girls who report having a mentor, 76 per cent report their mentor is female.
Girls are more likely to agree or somewhat agree they find women in positions of power more approachable (79%) than men in positions of power (57%).
Three in ten Canadian girls (32 per cent) say they never talk about their leadership aspirations with family or trusted adults.
Nearly eight in ten Canadian girls say their female peers encourage or somewhat encourage their leadership aspirations (78%).
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