UK girls take over 20 leading roles to mark International Day of the Girl

Key figures including former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, co-organiser of Glastonbury Festival Emily Eavis, celebrity photographer and Southbank Centre Chair Misan Harriman, podcaster Gemma Styles, Mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham, as well as organisations including LADbible Group, National Grid and Ford have all partnered with Plan International UK to be part of the Girls’ Takeover initiative. 

Hillary Clinton gave two girls from the UK and US access to her 5.7 million Instagram followers to champion gender equality on International Day of the Girl. And Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has pledged his support for girls and women in a specially recorded video during which he highlighted that it was a ‘moment to refocus our energy on breaking down the barriers girls face.’ 

Sir Keir Starmer said: “My mission is for every girl to be able to fulfill her dreams and achieve her ambitions no matter where she starts in life. I want my daughter to grow up in a world where girls everywhere are empowered and where not only their rights are realised but their aspirations too, where women and girls are able to live a life free from violence, where all girls have safe, educated and healthy lives.” 

Hillary Clinton said: “Every single girl around the world deserves the opportunity to live up to her potential. It fills me with pride when I see girls taking action on the issues they care about. So I'm lending my Instagram account on this International Day of the Girl to two young women – Nora from the US, and Lois from the UK – and joining Plan International in standing together with girls.” 

Lois, 19, is one of the girls who is taking over Clinton’s account and said:   

“I am very grateful for this opportunity to take over and share my voice on Hillary Clinton’s Instagram. I would have never have thought that a young, working class girl from the North East of England would have ever been able to do something like this. It’s really empowering. It's important young women like Nora and I are given the tools and resources to use our voices and be given platforms to talk about things that directly affect us, because at the end of the day, they are affecting us and who knows better about the experiences of women and girls, than women and girls themselves.” 

Emily Eavis, whose role as co-organiser of Glastonbury was taken over by Clara, 18:  

“Clara was an inspiration, I loved having her here for the day, sharing ideas and talking about our plans for the future, including what we can do to make the festival an even better and safer place for women and girls. We will stay in touch and I’m hoping she will come back again soon... a future leader for sure.” 

Despite society telling them they can be anything, the majority of UK girls are still being held back by lack of representation and outdated stereotypes, says a survey by Plan International UK of 1,000 girls and young women aged 14-24. 

31% said that lack of female role models in top leadership positions will hold them back from pursuing a leadership role themselves in the future. Other barriers to pursuing leadership roles girls cited include sexism and harmful stereotypes (36%) and the possibility of suffering from mental health issues as a high-profile woman (34%). 

The takeovers give girls an opportunity to showcase their skills and demand a seat at the table so they can make their voices heard. During their takeovers, the girls climbed pylons, became presenters for the day, headed up Glastonbury’s Festival and took to the stage of the Royal Festival Hall. 

Further takeovers include: 

Clara, 18, took over Emily Eavis’ role as co-organiser of Glastonbury Festival, where she toured the site, met various members of the team and previewed the new period dignity project launching at next year’s festival. 

Amelcia, 24, met Misan Harriman at the Southbank Centre, and channeled her own passion for photography into taking some images of Misan 

Lottie, 17, took over Gemma Styles’ Instagram account where she shared her perspective on mental health to millions of followers 

Andy Burnham’s position as Mayor of Manchester was taken over by Olivia, 21, at the Greater Manchester Green Summit 

Dunmi, 17, took over from Solly Solomou as CEO of LADbible Group where she got to grips with social publishing and what makes a story 

Eva, 21, took over from Trish Halpin and Lorraine Candy as host of their podcast Postcards From Midlife – her episode is now live 

Precious, 15, led the UK energy system’s transition to net zero for the day, taking over National Grid’s President for Electricity Transmission, Alice Delahunty’s role and overseeing plans for The Great Grid Upgrade from a helicopter. 

Nataly, 19, and Nicole, 18, took over from Ford chair and managing director Lisa Brankin and lab director Usha Raghavachari, leading sessions including online sales, social media and developing prototype concepts 

Rose Caldwell, CEO at Plan International UK, says: 

“Seeing girls take over business, politics and media is an inspiring celebration of the incredible potential of girls. The talent, ideas and strength of girls has the power to change the world, but change isn’t coming fast enough, and girls tell us they have had enough of the empty rhetoric. 

“Together with girls we can make sure International Day of the Girl becomes more than just a day in the calendar, but a catalyst for powering a world where every girl can reach her potential.” 

In honour of International Day of the Girl, this October Plan International UK is asking people to start a regular gift of £3 a month to help amplify the voices of girls around the world. Those who join the Fierce Voices community this October will receive a limited edition #DayOfTheGirl tote bag. To find out more about joining, go to the Plan International UK website: https://plan-uk.org/donate/fierce-voices.

Notes to Editors 

The research was conducted online by Opinium Research amongst a sample of 1,000 14-24-year-old females in the UK from 11th to 17th July 2023