MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – As a brand committed to building strong women and girls, Yoplait recognizes the importance of instilling self-confidence as an essential component to growing up. A recent survey commissioned by Yoplait gives new insight into what prevents girls from openly talking about their strengths, which is the catalyst for the brand’s new campaign, Open Up, Be Bold.
This new campaign will also kick off Yoplait’s partnership with Girls Inc., the preeminent girl’s leadership organization inspiring girls to be strong, smart and bold through direct service and advocacy. Through a donation from Yoplait, the partnership builds on the power of Girls Inc. programming, which complements Yoplait’s campaign to strengthen the confidence of girls and women by encouraging them to Open Up and Be Bold by sharing the qualities they love most about themselves.
The survey revealed that girls are less likely to say positive things about themselves out loud and by age 16, nearly half (44%) of all girls are not comfortable speaking positively about themselves at all. The survey uncovered the reasons that older girls are less likely to talk about their strengths, revealing:
- Concerns they won’t live up to expectations: More than a third of 16-18-year-olds (35%) feel they might not live up to the nice things they say about themselves, compared to just 16% of 13–15-year-olds.
- Fears around how others will view them: The most common reason girls ages 16-18 don’t feel comfortable describing themselves positively in front of peers is that they would feel conceited or like they were bragging (60%).
“For years, Yoplait products have provided important nutrients like calcium for women and girls, but now we’re focused on bringing emotional and mental wellness to the forefront – because mental strength is just as important as physical,” Kaylee Pohlmeyer, Marketing Communication Manager for Yoplait said. “Our core belief is to encourage and support women to open up and be bold and we are thrilled to announce our investment in a partnership with Girls Inc. who shares our mission.”
“Girls Inc. equips girls to realize their full potential,” said Stephanie J. Hull, Ph.D, Girls Inc. President & CEO. “When girls have strong mentors, a supportive environment, and great opportunities, they build their confidence, and they see all their possibilities. We are grateful to partner with Yoplait as they inspire girls to live boldly. I’m often in awe of what girls achieve when they believe in themselves. Powerful things happen—not only do they change their own circumstances, but they also create positive change for everyone around them.”
The survey findings also revealed that the likelihood of older girls hearing peers or older female role models saying nice things about themselves declines as girls get older – with 41% of girls ages 16-18 sharing that they rarely or never hear women they’re close to sharing positive traits about themselves.
To illustrate how young girls and women of all ages can empower each other to open up and be bold, Yoplait and Girls Inc. have partnered with JoAnna García Swisher. García Swisher, a mother and champion of Girls Inc., understands the important role mothers and adult female figures can play in encouraging girls to share positive traits about themselves as a building block to confidence.
García Swisher is using her own voice to encourage fellow mothers and female role models to be bold and share their own strengths, so young girls can mirror and feel confident doing the same.
“As a mom of two girls, this work is near and dear to my heart. The last thing we want is for the young girls in our lives to not see the bravery, grace and compassion we see in them every single day,” García Swisher said. “Engaging in these conversations is essential. The best thing we can do to help combat the confidence drop is to verbalize the good not only that we see in our girls, but also ourselves.”
Watch for Yoplait’s pink Girls Inc. lids, available nationwide to be reminded to spark conversations on how to “share your strengths.” To learn more about how you can help teen girls share their strengths, follow @yoplaitusa and visit https://www.yoplait.com/girls–inc.
The release summarizes key findings from the Yoplait survey conducted among 1,000 nationally representative U.S. girls ages 11-18, between January 13th and January 25th, 2023.
