By Holly Zachariah, The Columbus Dispatch
COLUMBUS – Lisa Hinkelman has spent a lifetime researching the lives of girls and helping them become empowered and confident leaders who base their self-worth, not on their looks or others’ perceptions, but instead on their brains, their achievements and their passion to do good.
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So when she got the results of a nearly two-year study by her Columbus-based research and programming organization, Ruling Our eXperiences (ROX)— a comprehensive survey of nearly 11,000 girls ages 10 through 18 in public schools across the country — it underscored for her just how far there still is to go.
Among the findings that surprised her the most? That 46 percent of girls don’t say what they are thinking because they want to be liked, and one in three don’t do it because they fear being labeled “bossy.” In addition, 30 percent of even the most high-achieving female students (with a 4.0 GPA or higher) still don’t see themselves as smart enough to land their dream career.
“This idea of girls being pleasers, and not being willing to be assertive for the sake of acceptance, has to be addressed,” said Hinkelman, a researcher, counselor and author. “It’s a tricky spot for girls to figure out how to be appropriately strong and feminine.
“‘You can have an opinion, just don’t voice it too loudly’ is often the message. We are missing out on a lot of what girls have to offer because of their own reticence to speak their minds.”
Hinkelman said she hopes that teachers, parents and organizations use the data in the study to better help empower girls.