BBC – Hannah Richardson
“Too many women are letting their “inner critic” stop them from succeeding in life, says the head of the Girls’ Day School Trust. Helen Fraser said she “worried away” at why high-achieving, confident girls were not moving as smoothly through life as men. Schools should encourage girls to be adventurous risk-takers, rather than “quiet, neat, good girls”, she said.
The Girls’ Day School Trust is a network of 26 independent schools. Ms Fraser said girls should learn to challenge their inner critic with an inner cheerleader. She told her organisation’s annual conference, in London, of the 21st Century pressure on girls to be perfect – “perfectly beautiful, with a perfect row of A*s, perfectly good at sport and music and friendship”. Quoting an American psychologist, Carol Dweck, she said: “If life were one long grade school, women would be the undisputed leaders of the world.” She asked what it was that “militated against girls succeeding” in the world of work.”(more)