A global study released by LEGO this year has shown that girls as young as five feel intense pressure to be perfect. Yet when girls feel free to play unapologetically, their creativity soars.

o, what can we do to support girls’ creativity? Researchers discuss ‘creative confidence’, the ‘power of play’,  and the importance of ‘everyday language’. LEGO surveyed over 61,500 parents and children aged five to twelve across 36 countries in a study that highlights ways to support girls’ creative confidence and challenge the pressures of perfectionism, which contribute to anxiety around making mistakes. Creative confidence is the self-assurance to generate ideas, take risks, speak up and contribute unique solutions without fear of failure.

Interestingly, we can change things simply by changing our language. The power of the words we use around girls is vitally important in shaping their creativity and confidence later in life. In fact, LEGO’s study found that girls aged between five and 12 repeatedly said the ‘language they hear makes them worry about making mistakes, feel like they shouldn’t experiment, or reinforces this need to be perfect’. This is about more than just the language we use when talking to our own children. It is also about the language society uses, and the gendered way the creative outputs of boys and girls are described.

Words such as ‘sweet’, ‘pretty’, ‘cute’ and ‘beautiful’ are often attributed to girls’ work. In fact, society is seven times more likely to use these words when discussing girls’ creative outputs, confining them to narrow categories that often value aesthetics over innovation. In contrast, boys are twice as likely to have their work described as ‘brave’, ‘cool’, ‘genius’ or ‘innovative’. More than half of the girls in the LEGO study felt that adults will listen to boys’ creative ideas more than girls, and 68% of parents agree that society takes male creatives more seriously.

So, what do girls want? They want mistakes to be recognised as learning opportunities, to know that progress is more important than perfection, and for adults to recognise more than just the final output of their creative work so that they feel less worried about making mistakes. Girls themselves said that they feel like they can be their true selves when they play, and do not feel like they are going to be judged. They also report feeling more confident about sharing creative ideas when playing. Therefore by promoting experimentation over perfection and emphasising progress, we are encouraging our girls to approach creativity with curiosity and enthusiasm. After all, creativity is not about achieving flawless results; it is about embracing the process, learning from mistakes, and discovering new possibilities along the way.

As the late poet Maya Angelou said, “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have”. Yet for many girls, this boundless supply of imagination is blocked by self-doubt. We can, however, challenge societal stereotypes and biases that impact girls. We can change our language to recognise their creativity and potential, and encourage a healthy, positive growth mindset with compliments such as ‘imaginative’, ‘brave’ and ‘inspiring’. We should also be celebrating the effort girls put into a task, regardless of the outcome, and using positive language when talking about both mistakes and successes, and championing the beauty of imperfection. Making that shift towards recognising effort over ability can be challenging, but ultimately it teaches girls that the learning experience and progress is more important.

Emphasising playfulness and encouraging girls to reflect on what happens when they step out of their comfort zone and take risks can also help, as can celebrating all wins – including the small ones. Ultimately, by refocusing how we view girls’ creativity, we can remove the pressure of perfectionism and the fear it creates, and instead allow girls to nurture and spark their own creativity and become the best version of themselves possible. This is key because when girls have the space and freedom to express themselves fully, they are unstoppable. They are playful inventors, curious scientists, daring dreamers and bold adventurers.

At Northampton High, our mantra is ‘made for girls’ and our commitment to the whole student, through our academic, co-curricular and pastoral provision puts every student at the heart of our promise to equip them with the skills and self-belief to unleash their potential and go on to lead a life of fulfilment and happiness.

Dr Lee
Head

Reference: 10 steps to fostering creative confidence