Only 36% of girls in grade six feel self-confident, and by grade ten, that number drops to 14%.
Those statistics come from a Public Health Agency of Canada study, according to Minerva BC, who are hosting an event in Prince George this week to try and help reverse them. Â
Prince George is the first municipality to host the northern expansion of Minerva’s “Learning to Lead” program, a leadership development opportunity for Grade 11 girls.
Minerva wants girls to learn about the program by attending the “Face of Leadership Luncheon”, sponsored by the RBC Foundation. The event will feature keynote speaker Teara Fraser of the Raven Institute and CEO of Minerva BC, Tina Strehlke.
“We invite girls from across British Columbia to come and learn about themselves. There’s a lot of focus on self development, values, strengths, who are you, who do you want to be in the world,” said Strehlke.
“We do it in grade 11 because making decisions about career and post-secondary are not too far away, but they’ve also got time to reflect and give it some thought and still be in the space of brainstorming and imagination.”
Stehlke says she can see an obvious need for the program, as they’ve had to turn away as many applicants as they’ve taken in previous years.
It’s the first expansion of the youth-model for the program, but Prince George has been a long time supporter of the Vancouver-based non-profit, they’ve partnered for nearly a decade to provide community leadership programs that benefit Indigenous women and women from rural communities.
The event is happening from 11:30am to 1:30pm on October 10th at the Courtyard by Marriott, 900 Brunswick St, Prince George.
Tickets are available here. Â Â Â