Women and girls around the world tend to face a range of disproportionate challenges that can have a detrimental impact on their lives and prospects.
Globally, more boys than girls are able to enter education and complete their studies. As a result of societal norms about appropriate courses of study for men and women, many young women lack the digital literacy needed to participate in an increasingly digital world. According to The Trust’s 2023 Future of Work survey, only 50% of young women felt they had the skills they need for a digital job (compared to 65% of young men).
Women are more likely to be unemployed than their male counterparts. Their economic participation is often undervalued and restricted, and as a result they are overrepresented in precarious, unpaid, and informal labor positions such as domestic and care work. The 2023 Future of Work survey found that 74% of young women have not had a pay rise that has been enough to keep up with the rising cost of living (compared to 66% of young men).
Women continue to be outnumbered by men in senior leadership positions across all industries, holding only about 32% of all Director, Vice-President, or C-suite positions. make up less than a third of leadership positions, according to the World Economic Forum’s “Global Gender Gap Report 2023.”
The Covid-19 pandemic has only amplified gender-specific labor gaps. In particular, women and girls are more likely to:
- Be out of school – It is estimated that 11 million girls in developing countries may never return to school following the pandemic.
- Be at risk of child marriage – 2020 saw the biggest surge in child marriage rates in 25 years. Half a million girls were at risk of child marriage in 2020 with a further 2.5 million girls projected to be at risk by 2025.
- Be unemployed or in informal/low-paid jobs – It is estimated that women make up almost two fifths of the global labor force but have suffered more than half of total job losses from the crisis.
How The Trust is Responding
The challenging landscape young women face means that our support is more important than ever. We are adapting our work to meet this need and to reach those most in need.
We focus on supporting young women around the world who are most in need and who face adversity in the transition from childhood to adulthood.
This includes young women from areas with greater economic deprivation, from minority ethnic backgrounds, those leaving the care system, dealing with disability or mental health challenges, or the domestic and sexual violence that young women are more likely to experience. Our work falls under three core areas, underpinned by aims to improve self-esteem, wellbeing and confidence.
Education
We offer support and build aspirations for young women who may not thrive in mainstream education. Girls experience a greater drop in self-esteem and wellbeing during secondary schooling than boys, severely impacting their confidence. Through our Education work we prepare young women to leave education with key skills for life, confidence in their potential, and strong foundations for future careers.
Employability
Young women are more likely to experience barriers to employment such as being a single parent, having caring responsibilities or facing issues with childcare. Our Employability programs support young women into employment or training and to overcome the challenges they experience in securing sustainable and well-paid work. Programs include a comprehensive package of employability, life skills and vocational skills training.
Enterprise
The Trust is an expert in supporting business start-ups. Through our Enterprise programs, we equip young women with role models, access to finance and networks to offer young women the opportunity to create more flexible working arrangements through self-employment, which can help them overcome some of the barriers of traditional employment. These programs give young women opportunities to explore self-employment, to build knowledge, skills and confidence to start-up and grow their own businesses.
