You run like a girl” or “you throw like a girl” are common insults we’ve all heard or said at one point. The #LikeAGirl campaign aims to change the negative perception of the phrase and make “like a girl” a declaration that means downright amazing. 

Feminine care company, Always, launched the global campaign to help girls as they enter a formative and sensitive time of their lives – puberty. A survey by Research Now found the start of puberty and their first period mark the lowest moments in confidence for girls. Harmful words can add to that drop in confidence. 

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Always has been empowering girls through puberty education for over 30 years and reach between 17 and 20 million girls globally every year. With this campaign, they wanted to champion girls’ confidence by taking a stand and turn “Like a Girl” into a phrase that represents the strength, talent, character and downright amazingness of every girl. They also want to encourage conversation to help rethink and redefine the common words and phrases used in society that imply girls are weak or inferior. Many use these phrases unthinkingly and don’t realize the impact these words can have on a girls confidence, particularly at one of her most impressionable times of her life.

To further help shed light on the issue, and to inspire girls to keep doing things #LikeAGirl, Always partnered with three women in male-dominated fields in Lebanon in November 2017: graffiti artist Lynn Acra, calisthenics gymnast Eva-Maria Mahfouz and programmer Rayan Al Zahab, to encourage Lebanese girls to follow their dreams. The new #LikeAGirl video brings a fresh approach to the campaign, following the three girls through a day in their lives.

From sketching and prepping for a graffiti project, to daily strength trainings, coding and more, the girls are seen in real-life situations that capture how intense but rewarding their chosen professions and hobbies are.

“Some guys just looked at me and laughed. They said: You’re a girl, you can’t do it. But now I just feel like I’m laughing at them because I can do it,” said Acra.

“I’m touched by our #LikeAGirl campaign, because every girl is capable of greatness and we must continue to empower them to grow into strong, amazing women tomorrow,” says Edgar Sandoval, Vice President of Global Feminine Care at Procter & Gamble – who is a father of three young girls himself.

Some Key Findings of the “Always Puberty & Confidence Study”: 

CONFIDENCE

• More than half of girls (about 1 out of 2 or 56%) claimed to experience a drop in confidence at puberty.
• Lowest confidence moments for girls were when puberty started and when they got their first period; a close second were starting middle and junior high school.
• Hispanic females cited the largest drop in confidence at puberty (60%), while fewer African American girls (50%) claimed to have a drop in confidence than Hispanic or Caucasian girls.
• Girls who saw a drop in confidence during puberty are more likely to claim they started puberty either before or after their friends.
• The advice most females would give to their younger selves is “you’re not alone” and “you’re not as awkward as you feel.”

LIKE A GIRL

• The majority (89%) of females aged 16-24 agree that words can be harmful, especially to girls.
• Only 19% of girls have a positive association toward the phrase “like a girl.”
• More than half (57%) of females think there should be a movement to change the negative perception of the phrase “like a girl.”

The study was conducted using the Research Now Panel that surveyed 1,300 American Females aged 16 to 24 years old. There was a nationally representative sample group of 1,000 females as well as an additional boost of 150 African American and 150 Hispanic American females. 

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