HOW do we raise our daughters to believe in their full potential and shatter gender perceptions when their most common role models are Disney princesses or reality television stars?
With research showing that between primary and secondary education, a girl's self-esteem drops 3.5 times more than a boy's does, the antidote seems to be encouraging individuality and laying a foundation of emotional security and resilience.
This summer, young girls in Northern Ireland will have the opportunity to take part in a five week skills based programme where they can develop skills in confidence, communication, creativity, team building and leadership.
Little Women NI is a non-for-profit initiative that will see 20 seven to nine year-olds explore these life-affirming qualities through a series of fun and interactive workshops delivered by industry experts involving play, drama, arts, crafts and sport.
Laura Dowie (30) was inspired to set up Little Women NI during her time working as events and marketing manager at female entrepreneurial support network Women in Business.
She tells me: "I would see women coming through who were lacking skills or wanting to change careers but weren't sure how to do it because of confidence issues.
“Research has shown that during childhood, girls display confidence levels that are equal to boys of the same age. However, during teenage years confidence levels and self-belief decrease. This affects how girls interact and engage not only with their peers, but with the world around them.
“Gender equality in the workplace and women in STEM are key issues for both government and businesses and in order to address the inbalance, action needs to be taken from an early age to help ensure that females play an increased role at all levels of society.
"So by targeting the seven to nine age group before they go to 'big' school, we hopefully can instil traits of confidence and communication that they can carry through into their professional lives."
Laura is passionate about helping nurture a future generation of successful female role-models.
"Obviously we have our first minister Arlene Foster, but there are not enough strong female role models."
She is also keen to promote girls being involved in sport from a young age and make them their bodies for its strength rather than just its beauty.
"The self-belief, dedication and mental resilience learnt through participating in sport encourages great leadership qualities."
Other facilitators include: Lisa Duffy, director of Bright Young Things; Heather Carr, director of Ten Minutes More; Alasdair McKee, director of Offload Rugby and Tara Mullan and Jeanette Ranking, directors of Doodlebugs Creative Workshops.
Whilst this summer course kick-starts Little Women NI, Laura would love to attract sponsors to further expand the programme throughout the north.
And what can parents of young girls do to help build up their self-esteem?
"A child's character is formed from the age of two or three," adds Laura.
"Parents need to constantly talk to them and encourage their self-belief through identify their unique skills and strengths."
So maybe it's time to let your daughter explore computer programming, martial arts or rugby rather than signing her up for dance or gymnastics just because they are the popular choice.
:: The programme will run every Saturday morning from July 16 to August 13 at Crescent Arts Centre, Belfast. The cost is £30m, for further details and to register visit Facebook.com/LittleWomenNI.
