Girlguiding impact report
Girlguiding empowers girls and boosts their confidence
This impact study shows that Girlguiding girls are on average 30% more confident than UK girls.
‘Girlguiding has had such a massive positive impact on me. It has helped me gain confidence, feel secure in who I am as a person, find friends who like me for me, and find a place where leaders support me but also challenge me to do things that I wouldn't normally do.’
Ranger
UK girls are facing a confidence challenge
We know that girls are a powerful force for change in their own lives. But we also know, across all walks of life and communities, girls face challenges to their confidence. UK girls report consistently lower confidence and self-worth than UK boys. In the UK, girls are between 3% and 12% less likely to report high confidence than boys – and the gap widens to as much as 24% by age 15.6
Girlguiding impacts girls’ confidence when they need it most
Our analysis shows that girls supported by Girlguiding are more likely to report higher confidence than UK girls.
Compared to UK girls, Girlguiding girls (10-15-years-old) are:
more confident that they aren’t nervous in new situations
more confident that they’re as able as others
more confident that they have a number of good qualities7
‘It helps me be more confident and I can learn new skills.’
Brownie
‘It has made me more confident and not be scared to try new things.’
Guide
Girlguiding girls also self-report improvements to their confidence and self-esteem:
What impact young members think Girlguiding has on them
How does Girlguiding empower girls and boost their confidence?
Gaining skills, awards and badges
Our range of awards inspires girls and celebrates their achievements. In 2025, girls achieved over 71,000 section awards and 175,000 theme awards. They’ve also completed an incredible 352,000 interest badges and 280,000 skills builder activities on topics ranging from first aid to coding, and self-care to space.
Our study found that younger girls (aged 7-10) with higher engagement in achievement and leadership activities were more likely to have greater resilience, for example, they are 8% more likely to risk mistakes and setbacks to reach their goals.
Amplifying girls’ voices
Girls lead on the activities they do and share their ideas. Girls’ and young women’s opinions and ideas are at the forefront of their experience at Girlguiding. 83% of girls and young women feel they can share their ideas at Girlguiding and 74% speak about things that are meaningful to them there. Much like other key ingredients of the Girlguiding experiences, we’ve found that using their voice to talk about the things they care about can lead to more positive outcomes. For younger girls, aged 7-10, each of the following activities was associated with a 3% decrease in emotional difficulties and a 3% increase in their social strengths:
- Talking about things they’d like to change in the world to make it better for others
- Talking about what they’d like to change to help the environment
- Participating in community activities like helping people where they live
‘Girlguiding has allowed me to explore and share my ideas.’
Brownie
‘It is a place where I can share my ideas and be myself without being judged.’
Guide
Leadership opportunities
Throughout their Girlguiding experience girls are given the opportunity to lead, from being a sixer in Brownies to a young leader supporting girls in other units. The leadership opportunities young members have help them to develop their confidence and support their future careers.
95% of our young leaders (aged 14-18) agreed volunteering with Girlguiding ‘gives me confidence’
74% of our young leaders (aged 14-18) agreed volunteering with Girlguiding ‘improves my employment options’
‘Girlguiding has massively impacted my life, I feel more confident and have been able to overcome challenges and do things I never imagined. Girlguiding has helped me explore my interests and given me confidence I can be myself and make a difference. I have also gained so many skills from Girlguiding.’
Ranger
Widening our reach
We want to make sure Girlguiding is accessible to girls and volunteers from all backgrounds, so more girls can benefit from our impact. We’re developing Girlguiding inspired experiences, going to places where girls are, such as schools and youth clubs. We’re co-creating girl-led activities in collaboration with teachers, youth workers and trained facilitators, to reach more girls. We're particularly focussing on reaching girls of colour and girls from lower socio-economic backgrounds. We need to work harder to make Girlguiding accessible to girls and volunteers from all backgrounds. This means adapting to what girls need where they need it, and collaborating with local and national partners to deliver guiding in multiple ways.
6 Understanding Society, Waves 10-12, 2020-2022, sample size: 6,269
7 Girlguiding, Waves 5-6, 2024-2025, data compared to data from Understanding Society (Waves 11-14, 2021-2024)
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