3 Ways We're Helping Girls Navigate a More Complex World in Portugal

Article written by Joana Frias Costa Chapter Chair and Executive President of Inspiring Girls Portugal.

Across schools, workshops and conversations with young people in Portugal, we keep hearing many of the same concerns from girls:

• Pressure to present themselves in certain ways online.

• Fear of judgement when speaking publicly.

• Anxiety about the future.

• Difficulty imagining themselves in some professional spaces.

• Feeling constantly connected, but not always truly heard.

And while these concerns are very real, the fact is that these same girls are also incredibly creative, thoughtful and engaged who care deeply about equality, technology, democracy, wellbeing and social impact.

As an organisation working with girls, one of our most important responsibilities is listening carefully to these realities and creating spaces where girls can explore them safely, critically and collectively.

In Portugal, as in many other countries, girls continue to face gender stereotypes that influence how they see themselves and their future possibilities. Despite strong academic performance, many girls still underestimate their abilities in areas such as science, technology or leadership. According to OECD - OCDE data, girls often report lower confidence in STEM subjects even when their performance is equal to or higher than boys'.

At the same time, the digital environment is shaping identity, self-esteem and participation in ways that previous generations did not experience at the same age. Social media can be a space of creativity, learning and connection but it can also amplify unrealistic standards, comparison, exclusion and hostility, particularly towards girls and young women.

We are also witnessing growing concerns around online misogyny, polarisation and the impact of digital environments on young people's wellbeing and civic participation and they remind us that supporting girls today means understanding the world they are growing up in.

1. Creators Lab: creating space to reflect on digital identity

Joana Frias and her colleague at the Creators Lab Event.

One of the programmes we recently developed at Inspiring Girls Portugal is Creators Lab, a project focused on digital citizenship, online identity and positive participation online.

Developed in partnership with the Portuguese Comissão para a Cidadania e a Igualdade de Género and the Câmara Municipal de Almada, the project brought together young people, families and educators to reflect on topics such as digital footprint, online relationships, self-image and critical thinking.

One of the most important things we learned was that adolescents are eager to have honest conversations about the digital world, not only about safety, but also about pressure, belonging, visibility and the feeling of being constantly online.

Many girls spoke about the pressure to present a “perfect” version of themselves online, the emotional impact of comparison and the difficulty of disconnecting from social expectations that increasingly extend into digital spaces.

At the same time, families and educators feel overwhelmed by the speed at which these realities are evolving. Some admitted feeling lost navigating platforms, behaviours and digital dynamics that change rapidly from one generation to the next.

What became clear throughout the project is that digital literacy is not only about technology skills but also about emotional wellbeing, relationships, critical thinking and participation.

2. Future STEMers: helping young people imagine themselves in future STEM professions

Future Stemers workshop

Through our programme Future STEMers, recently recognised at the APDC Women Shaping Tech Awards, students explore STEM careers and emerging professions through role models, mentoring and practical activities.

Participants learn not only about STEM areas and future skills, but also about the gender stereotypes that continue to shape perceptions around these fields.

One of the most exciting parts of the project is a creative challenge where students are invited to imagine professions that do not yet exist and reflect on how technology, sustainability and social change may shape the future.

The ideas they created were both imaginative and thoughtful, including professions such as Ocean Restoration Engineer, Regenerative Sensory Experience Designer and Digital-Physical Clothing Programmer.

The winning class will be awarded a visit to Google Head Offices in Lisbon, where students will meet women working in STEM areas and explore professional pathways that, for many, previously felt distant or inaccessible.

Projects like this remind us how important it is to create opportunities for young people not only to learn about the future, but to actively imagine themselves within it.

3. Girls in Democracy: participation also matters

Girls in Democracy workshop.

Alongside conversations about confidence and careers, participation  has become increasingly important in our work.

This year we launched Girls in Democracy, a European project funded by the CERV - Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme, focused on strengthening civic, political and democratic participation among young women across Europe.

The project brings together organisations from Portugal, Lithuania, Poland and Croatia, with the shared goal of ensuring that young women are not only encouraged to participate in society, but are genuinely heard within it.

At the heart of the project is a simple but important reflection: decisions about the future are constantly being made, but young women are not always part of the conversation.

In the first phase of the project, we organised focus groups with young women to better understand their perceptions, concerns and barriers to participation. Over the next months, participants will engage in workshops and activities focused on gender equality, politics, leadership, advocacy and democratic participation.

Projects like this remind us that empowering girls is not only about helping them imagine successful futures for themselves. It is also about ensuring they feel able to participate in shaping the societies they live in.

What we’re learning from girls in Portugal

One of the strongest lessons from our work is that girls do not experience these issues separately.

Confidence, representation, wellbeing, digital identity, stereotypes and participation are deeply connected in their everyday lives.

Despite the challenges they face, girls consistently show enormous creativity, awareness and willingness to engage with difficult conversations when they are given the right spaces to do so.

This is why local programmes matter, not because they provide all the answers, but because they create opportunities for listening, reflection, connection and possibility.

At Inspiring Girls Portugal we continue to believe deeply in the power of role models and aspiration. But we also believe that supporting girls today means recognising the complexity of the world they are navigating and ensuring they do not have to navigate it alone.

Join our mission

If you believe in what we are building, or know someone who might, we would love to hear from you. Reach out directly to portugal@inspiring-girls.comor find out more about our work at https://inspiring-girls.pt/