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.”
Sources: Fig. 1 and 4 – International Labour Organisation, World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2023 (ilo.org) | Fig. 2 -The Prince’s Trust (2022), An Upskill Struggle (princestrustglobal.org) | Fig. 3 – World Bank (2023), Her future is digital (worldbank. org)
The Covid-19 pandemic has only amplified gender-specific labor gaps. In particular, women and girls are more likely to:
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.
For International Women’s Day 2023, The Prince’s Trust united some of the UK’s much-loved brands who committed to #ChangeAGirlsLife by donating a portion of proceeds from specific products to The Prince’s Trust’s work helping thousands of young women across the UK build a better future for themselves.
Inspired by the iconic female character, Minnie Mouse, Disney x George at Asda was a collaboration celebrating Disney’s 100th anniversary in support of The Prince’s Trust #ChangeAGirlsLife campaign.
The partnership featured a three-day ‘Get Started’ program to support young people breaking into the world of product design, followed by a six-month mutual mentorship program and fun photo shoot.
Products were developed by participants around the theme of equality, strength and empowerment. Program participants also engaged in numerous storytelling and content creation opportunities, activated through multiple channels including POS, social media, online and PR.
The partnership received significant coverage, including features on This Morning, Lorraine, Grazia, Stylist and The Sun. Strong sales performance of products produced through this collaboration resulted in £100,000 donated to #ChangeAGirlsLife.
The Amal Clooney Women’s Empowerment Award celebrates the achievements of inspirational young women around the world, highlighting the work of those who have succeeded against the odds to make a lasting difference in their communities. This annual global award – sponsored by King’s Trust Ambassador for Enterprise, Charlotte Tilbury – celebrates young women who are the driving force behind initiatives that are helping their communities to thrive. In the US we will use funds raised through the campaign to:
We’re proud of what we’ve achieved so far, but we know there is still more to do to help young women facing great adversity. We would welcome the opportunity to build bespoke partnerships through strategic philanthropy and corporate investment to further our impact on the lives of young women and girls. We would welcome a further conversation with you to understand how we might best work together. For more information please contact Alison Zayas, Director of Philanthropy at The King’s Trust USA at [email protected].
The Trust was founded on the vision that every young person should have the chance to succeed – a vision that remains unchanged today.
Copyright © 2024 The King’s Trust USA. All Rights Reserved. 501(c)(3) (EIN) is 82-5457122.