Building Confidence and Courage in Young Women: Girls’ Wellbeing Initiatives for 2025

Young women across Australia are stepping into a world filled with both extraordinary opportunity and unprecedented pressures. They are expected to excel academically, manage complex social dynamics, navigate digital landscapes, balance cultural expectations, develop emotional resilience and prepare for futures that are rapidly changing. For many girls, particularly those in regional and Indigenous communities, these pressures can feel overwhelming and isolating.

Yet young women also bring remarkable strength. They carry cultural wisdom, creativity, leadership potential, empathy, determination and a deep capacity for community connection. What they often need is support safe spaces, strong mentors, culturally respectful guidance, and programs that empower them to believe in themselves.

The Johnathan Thurston Academy (JTA) has seen firsthand the power of uplifting young women through programs such as JTLeadLikeAGirl, JTBelieve and JTYouGotThis. These initiatives help girls build confidence, courage, communication skills, emotional resilience and cultural pride. They remind young women that their voice matters, their identity is valued and their potential is limitless.

This article explores why girls’ wellbeing and empowerment initiatives are essential in 2025, what JTA has learned from working with young women across Australia, and how sponsors can help expand these programs to transform communities for generations to come.

1. Why Girls’ Wellbeing Programs Are Essential in 2025

Young women today face unique and increasing pressures socially, emotionally, culturally and digitally.

1.1 Social Pressures Are Intensifying

Girls often manage:

• pressure to fit in
• friendship challenges
• comparison culture
• self-image expectations
• community responsibilities

Many feel they must appear confident even when they feel overwhelmed.

1.2 Digital Pressure Is Affecting Mental Wellbeing

Social media can impact:

• self-worth
• body image
• anxiety
• emotional resilience
• comparison thinking

Girls often feel pressure to present a perfect version of themselves online.

1.3 Confidence Gaps Appear Early

Research and lived experience show that many girls begin doubting their abilities between the ages of 8 and 14. Without support, these doubts can grow into long-term self-limiting beliefs.

1.4 Cultural Identity Plays a Powerful Role

For Indigenous girls, cultural identity is a source of strength. When this identity is respected and celebrated, confidence grows. When it is misunderstood or dismissed in school or social environments, young women may feel disconnected or unseen.

1.5 Gendered Expectations Still Shape Young Women’s Lives

Girls are often expected to:

• care for siblings
• help around the home
• manage emotional labour
• mature quickly
• be responsible for others

These expectations can create pressure and reduce space for their own growth.

Girls’ wellbeing programs are no longer optional, they are essential.

2. What JTA Sees: The Strength and Potential of Young Women

Through JTLeadLikeAGirl and other youth programs, JTA sees something powerful: when young women gain confidence, their entire world changes.

2.1 Girls Become Leaders in Their Own Communities

Girls often take on leadership roles naturally, stepping up in school events, cultural activities, sports teams and peer groups once they feel equipped and supported.

2.2 Communication Skills Transform Relationships

Girls who learn how to express themselves confidently often improve:

• friendships
• family relationships
• classroom conversations
• communication with teachers
• ability to ask for help

2.3 Confidence Strengthens Academic Engagement

When girls believe in their abilities, they participate more, try harder and stay motivated.

2.4 Emotional Resilience Improves Decision-Making

• self-awareness
• calmness in conflict
• stronger boundaries
• emotional regulation
• healthier ways of handling stress

2.5 Cultural Pride Anchors Girls in Strength

• identity
• belonging
• confidence
• family pride
• resilience

Cultural pride becomes the foundation for courage.

3. The Pressures Girls Face And How Wellbeing Programs Reduce Them

3.1 Pressure to Be “Perfect”

Girls often feel pressure to be:

• smart
• kind
• confident
• strong
• responsible
• calm
• successful

…all at once.

Wellbeing programs help girls recognise that perfection is not the goal, growth is.

3.2 Pressure to Please People

Many girls learn early to prioritise others over themselves. This can limit self-advocacy, leadership and emotional wellbeing. Programs teach healthy boundaries and confidence to speak up.

3.3 Self-Silencing

Girls often silence themselves to avoid conflict, judgement or embarrassment. Workshops help them find their voice and trust their instincts.

3.4 Body Image and Self-Worth

The digital world amplifies unrealistic standards. Empowerment programs remind girls that worth is not defined by appearance.

3.5 Fear of Failure

Girls often avoid risks because they fear disappointment. JTA teaches that mistakes are learning opportunities, not definitions of character.

3.6 Cultural Misunderstandings

Indigenous young women may feel misunderstood or stereotyped in school or community settings. Culturally informed programs help them feel seen and valued.

4. What Makes Girls’ Wellbeing Programs Effective Lessons From JTA

4.1 Safe, Supportive, Culturally Respectful Environments

• safe
• understood
• valued
• respected
• connected

Emotional safety is the foundation of all learning.

4.2 Strengths-Based Approaches

• leadership potential
• compassion
• creativity
• cultural knowledge
• empathy
• courage
• communication ability

4.3 Leadership Activities That Build Confidence

• teamwork
• public speaking
• problem-solving
• role-play
• leadership challenges

4.4 Mentorship and Role Modelling

• encourage
• guide
• listen
• support
• inspire

4.5 Emotional Resilience Training

• how to manage emotions
• how to identify feelings
• how to cope with stress
• how to set boundaries
• how to navigate conflict

4.6 Communication and Self-Advocacy Skills

• speak clearly
• ask questions
• express their needs
• negotiate
• lead discussions

4.7 Culturally Grounded Identity Work

Identity is a protective factor and a source of leadership strength.

5. JTLeadLikeAGirl, Empowering Young Women Across Australia

5.1 What JTLeadLikeAGirl Teaches

• leadership skills
• emotional intelligence
• communication
• resilience
• cultural pride
• teamwork
• confidence building
• body neutrality
• decision-making

5.2 Real Transformations

• speak in front of groups for the first time
• step into leadership roles
• communicate more confidently
• re-engage in school
• develop healthier friendships
• believe in their abilities

5.3 Why the Program Works

• culturally safe
• engaging
• relationship-based
• strengths-driven
• community-led
• grounded in empowerment

6. The Role of Sponsors in Supporting Girls’ Wellbeing Initiatives

6.1 Sponsors Expand Program Reach

• regional communities
• remote areas
• urban schools
• youth hubs
• cultural centres

6.2 Sponsors Strengthen Cultural Safety

When sponsors invest in cultural capability training, they help create a national environment where Indigenous girls feel safe to step forward.

6.3 Sponsors Support Resource Development

• program journals
• leadership kits
• culturally informed learning tools
• wellbeing activities
• digital resources

6.4 Sponsors Provide Girls with Real Opportunities

• workshops
• career exposure
• mentorship
• leadership events
• community partnerships

6.5 Sponsors Support Generational Change

• community leaders
• role models
• mentors
• advocates
• future mothers who raise confident daughters

7. The Ripple Effect, How Empowering Girls Strengthens Communities

7.1 Families Become Stronger

Confident girls communicate better, express themselves clearly and build healthy relationships at home.

7.2 Communities Gain Leaders

• sport
• culture
• school
• community programs
• family events

7.3 Safer, More Supportive Friendships Form

Empowered girls build friendships on respect, kindness and boundaries.

7.4 School Engagement Increases

Confidence boosts classroom participation, attendance and motivation.

7.5 Future Pathways Expand

Girls begin to dream bigger, plan stronger and pursue careers with courage.

When Girls Believe in Themselves, They Change Their Future And Their Community

Confidence and courage are not just traits, they are tools that shape futures. Young women who feel supported, empowered and culturally proud become leaders who uplift those around them.

The Johnathan Thurston Academy sees every day how girls transform when they are given the space to express themselves, celebrate their strengths and embrace their identity. They speak more confidently, walk more proudly, lead more boldly and imagine futures filled with possibility.

Sponsors play a vital role in making this transformation possible. Their support helps take girls’ wellbeing programs into more communities, reach more families and empower more young women who are ready to rise, with confidence, courage, cultural pride and belief in their own potential.

When girls are empowered, the future becomes stronger.

And when communities lift up their young women, they lift up their culture, their families and their generations to come.