Society

How happy are you most of the time?

Girls are generally very happy (33%) or quite happy (56%) and appear to be happier than boys. Girls are happiest when they are young – more than nine out of ten of the youngest girls (aged 7 to 10) respond positively to this question, including 49% who say they are very happy. As they approach secondary school, around half as many girls consider themselves very happy (29%), and just one in five feel this way when they reach 16+ (20%). 

Pie charts about how happy young people feel most of the time

Feeling in control

Most girls feel in control of their lives (69%) and this confidence increases with age. In addition a majority of girls feel that the UK is a fair place to be a woman (74%). Those who don’t feel that way say that this is because women are not treated equally (41%) and because men have more opportunities (9%).

A pie chart about how in control of their lives girls and young women feel
A pie chart about how fair girls and young women think the UK is
A graph about why the UK is not a fair place

For which areas of your life do you most need role models?

Girls feel they most need role models in fields such as education (62%), careers (59%) and relationships (50%), followed closely by healthy living (49%).

A graph about what areas girls and young women feel they need role models