Oct. 11 is International Day of the Girl

Story by CBC Kids News • 2018-10-11 17:38

Some say there’s still work to be done to help girls feel equal

Thursday is a day to celebrate girls: International Day of the Girl.

The day was founded by the United Nations in 2012 to highlight girls’ challenges and promote their rights.

That can mean different things to different girls, depending on where they live in the world.

Some girls are not able to go to school.

Some girls don’t get to choose their career.

In Canada, girls and boys are given equal opportunities, in theory.

But in practice, not all girls feel they are equal.

That’s the result of a survey that anorganization, Plan International Canada, paid to have conducted.

Here are some of the highlights of what more than 1,000 Canadian girls from across the country, aged 14 to 24, had to say:

stats in rectangles: 36 per cent say their ideas are taken less seriously because of their gender. CHAT BUBBLE: That means not all girls feel they have an equal voice to boys. 50 per cent say they have the same opportunities to lead as boys . CHAT BUBBLE: Girls don’t always feel like they can be leaders because they are girls. 27 per cent experienced discrimination because of their gender at school. CHAT BUBBLE: Discrimination means they felt they were treated unfairly. 22 per cent feel pressure to watch their weight to be more liked. CHAT BUBBLE: This was girls aged 14 and 15.

CBC Kids News contributor Saara Chaudry spoke with 17-year-old youth ambassador Laine McCrory from Toronto, Ont. about her experiences of gender discrimination. Click the video above to see her interview.

 

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