Girls' Attitudes Survey

A snapshot of girls’ and young women’s lives over the past 15 years.

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Now in its 15th year, the Girls' Attitudes Survey shows how girls and young women feel about their everyday lives, the pressures they face and the issues they care about.

Girlguiding gives girls and young women a platform to speak out on the issues that matter to them through the Girls’ Attitudes Survey – our flagship research supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery.  

This survey asked over 2,000 girls and young women aged 7 to 21, both inside and outside of guiding, how they feel about the specific and emerging pressures facing them today, and what these mean for their happiness and opportunities. In this 15th anniversary year, we asked girls the same questions we’ve asked in the past as well as a few new ones to directly compare how girls’ and young women’s lives have changed since 2009. 

The survey shows there are areas in girls' lives that are worse than when the survey began in 2009. With a steady decline in girls’ happiness year on year, girls’ happiness levels have reached an all-time low.  

Read the full 15th Girls' Attitudes Survey.

The pressures on girls, particularly in terms of appearance, online harms and sexual harassment, felt particularly resonant as I have watched multiple members in my own Girlguiding units struggle with these issues. Girlguiding aims to help girls tackle these issues through the various themes of its programme and the support that volunteers, such as myself, offer girls and young women.’ - Megan, 21, Girlguiding advocate 

Read a snapshot of girls' lives today

This summary provides a snapshot of the Girls' Attitudes Survey and explores what girls have told us about how they feel and the pressures they face.

View survey snapshot