crisis of confidence

We need to begin entrepreneurial education programs earlier because by college women have already given into their self doubt and chosen other paths.

And we know this crisis of confidence is bigger than just entrepreneurship and innovation education. Research reveals that girls’ feelings of self-worth have plummeted since the pandemic. Anxiety, depression, and sadness are on the rise for teen girls. Clearly our young women are in crisis.

According to decades of research and work in the classroom, there are interventions that work. We can help improve students’ outlook and boost happiness through (1) teaching self-compassion, (2) connecting with others, (3) finding meaning, and (4) developing competencies.

We teach each of these in our workshops. For example, we help girls find meaning through creating their own venture, help them connect with others through team-focused work, help them see that they can bring about positive change through their own actions, and finally, help them begin to develop entrepreneurial and design thinking competencies. We have built, tested, and refined these in the classroom with hundreds of students. And we should point out that the mindset curriculum we have developed has been proven to increase optimism and hopefulness in our college students as well as help students believe in themselves and their ideas.