For many years, a lack of confidence has been cited as one of the reasons women are underrepresented in senior leadership roles and certain professions. The assumption is often that girls grow up less confident than boys and that this confidence gap follows them into adulthood.

A major Australian study suggests the story may be more complex.

In 2018, researchers from The University of Queensland (Australia) surveyed more than 10,000 students in Years 7 to 11 from single-sex schools across Queensland. Their aim was to better understand self-confidence, leadership development and career aspirations among adolescent boys and girls.

What they found challenged a widely held assumption.

The study found no significant difference in overall confidence between girls attending girls' schools and boys attending boys' schools. There were no significant differences in social self-efficacy at any age level and the same was true for general self-efficacy. In short, girls from single-sex school environments were every bit as confident as their male peers. 

The researchers posited these findings as evidence that confidence differences between girls and boys are not innate and are more likely to be caused by socialisation factors that may undermine girls’ confidence. They concluded that the findings indicate an effect associated with the single-sex school environment. In the absence of boys, teaching is tailored to girls’ learning needs and preferences, and activities and academic opportunities are free of gender-stereotyping. Girls are more confident and feel empowered to achieve their full potential.

The study provides compelling evidence that girls' schools can create environments in which girls develop confidence at levels equal to boys. At a time when girls and women are frequently described as having a confidence gap, that finding is significant. 

The research also explored a second important question: if confidence is not innate, what experiences help young people develop it?

Researchers examined more than twenty common adolescent activities and identified three experiences that contributed most strongly to confidence development: travel, participation in team sport, and leadership opportunities. 

Travel emerged as the strongest contributor. Students who travelled reported higher levels of confidence, particularly where travel involved opportunities to explore unfamiliar environments with increasing independence. 

Team sport was the second strongest contributor. Importantly, girls derived the same confidence benefits from participation in team sport as boys. 

Leadership was the third strongest contributor. Students who had held leadership positions, or who had participated in leadership development programmes, reported higher levels of confidence than those without such experiences. These benefits were evident regardless of age. 

A common thread connected all three experiences. The study found that activities involving greater independence and less direct adult supervision were particularly powerful in building confidence. While adults play an important role in creating opportunities and providing support, confidence appeared to grow when students had opportunities to make decisions, solve problems and navigate challenges for themselves. 

For schools and families, the findings offer an important reminder that confidence is not simply a personality trait that some young people possess and others lack. Rather, confidence develops through experience. It grows when young people are given opportunities to travel, participate in sport, take on leadership responsibilities and exercise increasing levels of independence. 

The findings also highlight the value of experiences that sit alongside academic learning. While schools understandably devote significant attention to classroom achievement, the study identified travel, excursions, sport and leadership opportunities as among the strongest contributors to self-confidence. 

For girls' schools, the implications are particularly powerful. The study challenges the notion that girls inherently lack confidence compared with boys. Instead, it demonstrates that in a single-sex educational environment, girls can and do develop confidence at levels equivalent to their male counterparts. 

At a time when discussions about girls and leadership often begin with assumptions about confidence deficits, this research invites a different conversation. Rather than focusing on what girls lack, it encourages us to consider the environments and experiences that allow confidence to flourish.

According to this landmark study, some of the most powerful of those experiences are also among the hallmarks of many girls' schools: opportunities to travel beyond familiar surroundings, participate fully in sport, lead in meaningful ways and develop independence through challenge and responsibility. 

The message is simple but important: confidence is not the problem. The evidence suggests that when girls are provided with the right environment and opportunities, they are just as confident as boys.

Reference: Fitzsimmons, T. W., Yates, M. S., & Callan, V. (2018). Hands Up for Gender Equality: A Major Study into Confidence and Career Intentions of Adolescent Girls and Boys. Brisbane, Australia: AIBE Centre for Gender Equality in the Workplace, The University of Queensland.