Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

This question has been sitting with me ever since a conversation with my daughter, a 24-year-old woman of faith who is navigating adulthood, purpose and partnership. She said, “Mum, so many women around me are thriving. But I’m not sure the men are keeping up. It feels unbalanced.” In the context of co-ed leadership empowerment, girls-only spaces have become crucial for fostering leadership and self-love. Her words landed deeply. Not because empowerment for young women is a problem, it is essential, overdue, and transformative. But because the imbalance she is noticing reflects something I’ve also been seeing across schools, youth spaces and the wider sector.

Girls are rising, and too many boys are drifting.
In this context of co-ed leadership, empowerment takes the form of self-love and girls-only spaces that foster leadership among young women. And as we reach the final days of the 16 Days of Activism to End Violence Against Women and Girls, I can’t help but reflect:
Ending violence starts long before a crisis; it starts with how we raise, develop and invest in all young people.

A Sector Narrative We Can No Longer Avoid

Across the UK, we are rightly investing heavily in girls, namely their confidence, their leadership, their safety, and their voice. These interventions work. I see it every day. You cannot build a generation of strong female leaders without also cultivating a generation of emotionally intelligent, confident and healthy male peers. This dual approach emphasises co-ed leadership and development, alongside spaces dedicated solely to girls.

• When young women become hyper-independent, not out of choice, but out of necessity, it affects everything:
• Their ability to find a mutual partnership
• The kind of relationships they enter
• How they negotiate boundaries, and the broader relational culture within society

At the same time, boys who feel undervalued or underprepared can drift towards withdrawal, frustration or harmful online spaces that prey on their uncertainty.
This is not a girl vs. boy issue; it is a system issue.
One that ultimately impacts future families, workplaces, faith communities, and the very possibility of safe, equal relationships. Including co-ed leadership empowerment aspects and ensuring girls-only spaces thrive creates a full circle of development.
Ending violence against women and girls does not begin at adulthood.
It begins with how we raise our boys, how we empower our girls, and how we build a culture of partnership and mutual respect from the start.

Girls-Only Spaces Must Remain — They Are Essential

• Identity work
• Confidence building
• Psychological safety
• Leadership voice

These remain non-negotiable. Girls still need protected spaces to grow without judgment, comparison or fear.
BelEve and organisations like ours exist because these spaces change lives and foster self-love, and we must protect them.
But the story doesn’t end there.

We Now Need More Co-Ed Leadership Spaces, Not Fewer

• If we want: These co-led leadership spaces include and are not limited to the following;
• Men who can communicate
• Partners who can collaborate
• Colleagues who understand equity
• And communities built on respect

…then we must teach these skills together in dynamic co-ed leadership spaces.
Communication, emotional intelligence, allyship and partnership-building are developmental experiences. They don’t magically appear at age 25. They must be learned, modelled and practiced.
Girls-only spaces equip young women with clarity and confidence.
But co-ed leadership spaces teach both genders how to work, lead, and relate to each other.
This is where the balance begins.

The Real Call to Action: Equal Investment. Parallel Development. Shared Leadership.

For the sector, the solution is not to shift resources away from girls.
It is to:
1. Invest equally in boys’ emotional, social and leadership development
so they grow into healthy, self-aware young men who can be equal partners and allies.
2. Expand co-ed leadership spaces
so boys and girls learn to communicate, collaborate, and respect each other early.
3. Continue protecting and strengthening girls-only spaces
because equity requires both targeted support and mixed-gender development.
4. Build a long-term system that develops future leaders of all genders
so girls can thrive without carrying the emotional, relational or leadership load alone.
This is how we shift culture.
This is how we strengthen communities.
This is how we prevent harm before it happens.

As We Move into the 16 Days of Activism, Here’s the Truth We Must Hold

You cannot end violence against women and girls without:

• Raising boys differently
• Supporting boys intentionally
• Developing boys relationally
• You cannot prepare girls for leadership without preparing boys for partnership
• Empowerment is not a competition; it is a collective responsibility
• If we want strong female leaders, we must build strong male allies
• If we want safe communities, we must invest in the emotional development of boys
• If we want healthy relationships, we must teach partnership early

The balance our daughters are searching for, and our sons desperately begins with co-led leadership empowerment and the continued protection of girls-only spaces.
And it starts now.