ABOUT THE GIRL STANDARD

WHY I CREATED THE GIRL STANDARD

The Girl Standard was created from professional experience, personal experience and the belief that confidence can change the direction of someone's life.

For many years, I worked with young people and adults in education and the community.

Again and again, I saw that it wasn't always ability holding people back - often, it was whether they believed in themselves enough to speak up, try something new, or take the next step.

Meet the Founder

I'm Poonam Sharma, founder of The Girl Standard. I've spent more than seven years working across education and community settings, supporting young people and adults through personal development, pastoral support, careers and key life transitions.  Through that work I saw again and again how confidence, or a lack of it, could shape the choices people made, the opportunities they pursued and how they saw themselves.

Combining that professional experience with my experience as a mum led me to create The Girl Standard. Practical programmes designed to build confidence, strengthen relationships and develop skills people can use in real life.

THEN IT BECAME PERSONAL

As a mum, I began watching my own daughter experience some of the friendship challenges that so many girls face.  Changing friendship groups, exclusion, comparison and the pressure to fit in and subtle  "mean-girl" behaviour that can be incredibly difficult for girls, parents and even schools to navigate.  Watching someone you love begin to question herself because of the behaviour of others was heartbreaking.

It made the issue feel very different.

I didn't just want to tell my daughter to "ignore it" or "be confident."  I wanted her to understand what healthy friendships look like.  Recognise when something wasn't okay, know that she could set boundaries, and most importantly understand that somebody else's behaviour did not determine her worth.

That became one of the biggest reasons I created The Girl Standard.  I wanted to take what I had learned through years of working with people, combine it with what I was experiencing as a mum, and turn it into something practical that could help other girls too.

I kept thinking:

THEN I STARTED TALKING ABOUT IT

I started The Girl Standard on TikTok, opening up conversations about girl friendships, confidence, exclusion, comparison and the pressures girls can face growing up.

The response showed me just how widespread the problem is.  Hundreds of thousands of people were reached, with girls, mums and women sharing their own stories and experiences.

It made me realise that what happens between girls during these formative years can have an impact that reaches far beyond the school gates.

These conversations reinforced something I already felt strongly:

We need to take girl friendships seriously.

Girls need opportunites to talk honestly about friendships, confidence, boundaries, belonging and self-worth - and they need practical tools to help them navigate those experiences.

The Girl Standard grew from those conversations.  Bringing together my experience in education, my  experience as a mum and the voices of a much wider community saying, "This matters to us too".

BUT THE VISION BECAME BIGGER

As The Girl Standard developed, I realised the same principle runs through so many stages of life. 

A young person preparing for their first experience of the workplace needs confidence to introduce themselves, make eye contact and communicate with adults.

A woman returning to work, rebuilding after redundancy or moving into a new stage of her life may need to rediscover confidence she once had.

The circumstances are different, but the underlying belief is the same:

People should have the confidence and practical skills to move forward without believing they have to become somebody else first.

That's why The Girl Standard now works across three areas - Girls & Schools, Future Ready, and Women and Communities - with practical programmes designed around real world situations people face.

WHAT I WANT THE GIRL STANDARD TO DO

I don't want people to leave a session simply feeling inspired for an hour.

I want them to leave with something they can actually use.

The confidence to speak.

The ability to set a boundary.

The courage to walk into an unfamiliar room.

The understanding that exclusion doesn't determine your worth.

The skills to introduce yourself and make a positive first impression.

Simply the belief that "I am brave, I am strong, I can do anything I want"

That's what sits at the heart of The Girl Standard: real conversations, practical skills and stronger people.