Insights from a recent conversation hosted by Lean In Girls, featuring Sheryl Sandberg, Founder of Lean In; Sonia Park, CEO of the Diverse Charter Schools Coalition; and Rey Saldaña, President and CEO of Communities In Schools

What will it take to raise a generation of girls who lead? 

That question drove a recent conversation with Sheryl Sandberg, Founder of Lean In, alongside Sonia Park and Rey Saldaña, exploring how schools and communities can create more pathways for girls to step into their power. Below are five of Sheryl’s most powerful takeaways — and what they mean for the work happening inside girls’ schools every day.

1. The confidence gap is real — and it starts early

Girls start out just as confident as boys. But starting in elementary school, social pressure and gender norms take a toll. And in middle school, confidence plummets. More than half of girls ages 8–17 are afraid to lead for fear of being called bossy, and 66% now believe that speaking their mind will make them unlikable — up from 46% in 2017.1 Girls’ schools are uniquely positioned to interrupt this pattern before those beliefs take root.

2. When girls hold back, everyone loses

The cost of girls silencing themselves isn’t just personal — it’s societal. When half the population is discouraged from speaking up, we all lose access to their ideas, innovation, and leadership. Research shows that girls are more than twice as likely as boys to exhibit high perfectionism and fear of failure — and those pressures compound over time.² The work of building girls’ leadership isn’t optional. It’s essential.

3. Small actions build real confidence

When asked how to support girls who are already hesitant to use their voice, Sheryl’s guidance was practical: start small. Raising a hand, asking a question, sharing an idea — these everyday moments help girls see themselves as leaders right now, not someday. There is no single “right” way to lead, and when girls do speak up, how adults respond matters enormously: celebrate the effort, not just the outcome.

4. The full picture: Boys need to be part of the solution, too

Support for gender equality among middle and high school boys has declined sharply: in 2018, 63% of U.S. boys completely agreed that women should have equal job opportunities; by 2025, that number had dropped to 45%.3 Empowering girls is only part of the equation — we also have to raise boys to value and support girls as leaders and make sure they grow up seeing women’s leadership as the norm.

5. Girls are ready — they just need the right conditions

Sheryl closed with a clear-eyed vision: the next generation of girls is brave, creative, and determined to make the world better. What they need from educators is to trust their voices and know they have the power to lead. When girls are given the right tools and the right environment — and adults who believe in them — they rise.

Bring Lean In Girls to Your School

Lean In Girls is a free, research-backed leadership curriculum for girls ages 11–15 — and it has successfully reached girls as early as age 9 and through age 18. With 12 flexible, classroom-ready sessions, the program builds confidence, resilience, and the skills to reject limiting messages. It’s designed to fit into whatever time your school has: advisory, enrichment, afterschool, pastoral care, Life Orientation, or a week-long program.

More than 350 schools and organizations across the globe are already part of this community, reaching 25,000+ girls. Registration is free and takes just a few minutes.

Register to get started or reach out to support@leaningirls.org for more information. 

1. The Girls' Index by Ruling Our Experiences;  AAUW, Shortchanging Girls, Shortchanging America 
2. M. Smith et. al., "Multidimensional perfectionism turns 30" 
3. Monitoring the Future Study