Girls as Young as Five Are Having Their Creativity Impacted by Pressure of Perfection and Language Bias

• A new global study from the LEGO Group reveals girls feel intense pressure to be perfect and believe adults give boys more recognition for their creative work, with parents saying this trend continues into adulthood.
• With three quarters of girls aspiring to work in creative industries, this underscores the need for urgent change. A new short film, ‘More Than Perfect’ spotlights the creative possibilities that are unlocked when girls are free to play unstoppable.
• Free workshops online and in LEGO Retail stores launch to help families nurture creative confidence through the power of play and everyday language. Also launched today, a ‘10 Steps to Fostering Creative Confidence’ guide in collaboration with Harvard-trained parenting researcher and bestselling author, Jennifer B Wallace.
• Committed to playing its part and driving systemic change, the company will partner with Save the Children and the LEGO Foundation to address some of these societal issues.

Billund – March 5th, 2024: The LEGO Group has today unveiled findings from new global research looking into societal trends affecting children’s creative confidence. It finds that the pressure of perfection and everyday vocabulary pose a risk, particularly for girls, in holding them back from reaching their full creative potential. The company hopes to spotlight that by simply adjusting our language, we can help shape a brighter future for girls.

Surveying over 61,500 parents and children aged 5-12 years old across 36 countries, the data calls for societal change to ensure girls can fulfil their creative aspirations and play unstoppable, with researchers finding girls as young as five are having their creative confidence stifled.

At this young age, three quarters (76%) feel confident in their creativity, but this declines as they get older and two-thirds of all girls often feel worried to share their ideas. This is compounded by the burden of perfectionism and anxiety about making mistakes (72%). Parents agree – 71 percent say girls are more likely to hold back developing their ideas, because of these pressures.

Harvard-trained parenting researcher and bestselling author, Jennifer B Wallace says, “When children fear failing, it can hamper their willingness to explore and think outside the box. This impacts the key skill of creative confidence - which can carry into adulthood. Creative confidence is the self-assurance to generate ideas, take risks and contribute unique solutions without fear of failure. It’s been found to be a cornerstone of well-being by boosting self-esteem, reducing stress, and increasing happiness, as well as a top-ranked skill for future workplaces according to the World Economic Forum. With over three quarters of girls aspiring to work in creative industries it underscores the urgent need for change.”

PERFECTION PRESSURE AND WHY LANGUAGE MATTERS
More than 3 in 5 girls report feeling pressure by society’s messages of perfection. While this is a concern for all children, both parents and children acknowledge that girls face heightened pressures to be perfect and worry more about making mistakes .

The good news: by changing our language we can help change the future. The study shows that everyday language is playing a role inhibiting girls' from freely expressing themselves creatively. In fact, nearly two-thirds of girls aged 5-12 say language they hear makes them worry about making mistakes, feel like they shouldn’t experiment, or reinforces this need to be perfect.

Findings also highlight a significant societal bias disproportionately impacting girls, with parents noting a prevailing trend where gendered descriptions are commonly used to assess the creative outputs of male and female creators. More specifically, society is around 7x more likely to attribute terms like “sweet”, “pretty”, “cute” and “beautiful” exclusively to girls. While terms such as “brave”, “cool”, “genius” and “innovative” are twice as likely to be attributed exclusively to boys.

The data also reveals over half of children believe adults listen more to boys' creative ideas than those of girls. 68 percent of parents also agree that society takes male creatives more seriously than females.

In a new short film, ‘More Than Perfect’, the LEGO Group explores the effect that language can have on girls' creative confidence, as we see them being taken through two different challenges and presented with some of the global research findings. We hear powerful reflections from the girls and capture parents’ reactions.

“What we say early sets in deep. Biased language reinforces traditional gender roles, which can play a role in limiting girls' creativity and perpetuating systemic inequalities. It can confine them to narrow categories, such as valuing aesthetics over innovation. This implicit bias can hamper girls' confidence and restrict their opportunities in male-dominated fields. Challenging these biases is essential for fostering an inclusive society where girls can fully explore their creative potential. Every girl deserves the freedom to explore her creativity without fear or pressure,” says Wallace.

According to girls themselves, 80 percent say they would be less afraid to try new things if mistakes are praised more as learning opportunities, eight in ten would also feel more confident to show their work and would value progress over perfection. Nine in ten believe their confidence would be boosted if adults focused more on the creative process of their work instead of the final output - with 86 percent admitting this would make them feel less worried about making mistakes. More specifically, girls report being uplifted by growth-mindset compliments such as ‘imaginative,’ ‘brave’ and ‘inspiring.’

TIME TO PLAY: THERE’S FUN TO BE HAD!
“A perfection mindset encourages us to stay in our lanes, to fear failure and give up at the first sign of struggle. In contrast, a growth mindset encourages us to be brave, embrace failure and to build ourselves up. It creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment", explains Dr Anika Petrella, Researcher and Psychotherapist. “When we filmed ‘More Than Perfect’ it was fascinating to observe the impact that our words had on girls’ ability to play and experiment freely. Teaching girls that experimentation triumphs over perfection is crucial to empower their authentic, creative selves and what better way to do this than through play?”.

Nine in ten parents say play helps their child’s self-expression, boosts their confidence to experiment, builds creative confidence and provides a safe space to explore and experiment without fear of failure. Eight in nine children feel they can be their true selves during playtime - they are less worried about making mistakes and being judged (85%), just as they feel more confident sharing their ideas and creative work when playing (88%).

The LEGO® System in Play is highly valued by girls as a way to experiment (90%). Notably, 82 percent say that LEGO play helps them overcome fear of mistakes, 91 percent feel more confident in their creative skills, and 84 percent feel it helps them learn that progress is more important than perfection. Parents share these beliefs with over eight in ten also adding that LEGO play helps their child appreciate mistakes as a natural part of the creative process. Yet, while parents perceive the LEGO brand as a good example of an inclusive toy brand, LEGO play is still considered more relevant to boys than girls, according to 61 percent of parents.

“In an increasingly AI-driven world, creativity is the magic that will set us apart. LEGO play, whether it's free building or instruction-based, helps develop essential skills that are equally relevant to all children in today’s world. Through building and rebuilding, it becomes a bedrock for creative confidence, courage and self-belief. And this is key, because when girls have the space and freedom to express themselves fully, they are unstoppable. They are playful inventors, curious scientists, daring dreamers and bold adventurers – and that’s exactly what our play unstoppable movement celebrates,” says Alero Akuya, VP of Global Brand at the LEGO Group.

RESOURCES AND INITIATIVES TO DRIVE CHANGE
The LEGO Group is committed to inspiring and developing the builders of tomorrow through the power of play. Together with partners and industry experts the company pledges to continue to spotlight and help break down limiting societal stereotypes and biases that hold back creative potential. This includes further broadening inclusion and gender equality across its products and content with support from its ongoing partnership with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media.

To help champion and stand up for girls’ creativity, the LEGO Group is rolling out its biggest ever campaign celebrating girls and their creative worlds. Introduced as part of this is a series of exciting, free creativity workshops in select LEGO Stores and on LEGO.com aimed at young creators aged 6-12. Developed to show the power of creative freedom, the building workshops focus on Entertainment, Space, Gaming, Dreams & Imaginations and will take place throughout the year – starting this month. Sign-up for the first in-store workshops is now open but be quick, tickets go fast!

To help equip parents with fun tips to support creative development, the LEGO Group has developed a new ‘10 Steps to Fostering Creative Confidence’ guide in collaboration with Harvard-trained parenting researcher and bestselling author Jennifer Wallace. Equally, to engage children on the critical topic of creative confidence, new content developed with Peppy Agency will go live on LEGO Life in April.

A new programme from the long-standing partnership between the LEGO Group, the LEGO Foundation and Save the Children will see initiatives put into place in select countries to encourage systemic change

Let’s celebrate girls’ creative powers and let her play unstoppable by removing the pressure for perfection and gendered language bias.

For more information go to LEGO.com

RESOURCES AND INITIATIVES TO DRIVE CHANGE
• Parenting Guide: ‘10 Steps to Fostering Creative Confidence’: A resource developed specifically for parents, caregivers and grown-ups looking for tips & tricks on how to help nurture creative confidence in children.

• LEGO Brand Retail Instore and Online Creativity Workshops: Aimed at young creators aged 6-12, the free workshops are focused on Entertainment, Space, Gaming, Dreams & Imaginations, and provide the freedom to create and play without limits.

• The Creativity at Home Online Workshops feature inspiring talent including dancing sensation Dianne Buswell (as seen on UK TV), Space Communicator Alexandra Doten (aka Astro Alexandra) and gaming pioneer Kennedy (aka Cozy K). Each creator will host an online workshop at www.LEGO.com/Creativity-Workshops throughout the year where girls can be inspired to build a photo frame, bedroom door sign, rocket pen pot, imaginative creatures, gaming accessories and much more.
• The Creativity In-store Workshops will be held at select LEGO Stores across Europe, the USA, Canada and China from March until October. They are free to attend but places should be booked in advance at www.LEGO.com/Creativity-Workshops.
• Additionally, throughout March and April, visitors to select LEGO Retail stores will be able to take part in free Make & Take building challenges based on LEGO® Friends and LEGO® Animal Crossing™. Check your local store to see when these events are running at www.LEGO.com/stores.

• Social Emotional Learning Content for Kids on LEGO Life: Designed to help children develop creative confidence and overcome creative blocks as well as fear of failure, the LEGO Group has worked with Peppy Agency and a group of creators to produce new engaging content coming to LEGO Life in April 2024.

• Inclusive Language Training for LEGO Employees: Extending on its ongoing work to remove harmful gender bias from LEGO products and adverts, the LEGO Group is rolling out new internal language training focusing on the importance of inclusive language. With this commitment, the company wants to acknowledge that language has the power to change culture.

• New Initiative with Save the Children and the LEGO Foundation: Building on a long-lasting partnership centred around the importance of learning through play, the LEGO Group, the LEGO Foundation and Save the Children launch new initiative called Girls Unstoppable. Being implemented in China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Mexico - the programme aims to reach 330,000 girls indirectly throughout 2024-2026, while also raising global awareness of barriers holding girls back. Girls Unstoppable will invest in the creative power of girls, ensuring they feel comfortable speaking up about things that matter to them, have safe spaces to come together in, and have fun unleashing their creative potential to become stronger advocates for their rights and unstoppable women of tomorrow.

About the LEGO Group
The LEGO Group’s mission is to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow through the power of play. The LEGO System in Play, with its foundation in LEGO bricks, allows children and fans to build and rebuild anything they can imagine.

The LEGO Group was founded in Billund, Denmark in 1932 by Ole Kirk Kristiansen, its name derived from the two Danish words LEg GOdt, which mean “Play Well”. Today, the LEGO Group remains a family-owned company headquartered in Billund. However, its products are now sold in more than 130 countries worldwide. For more information: www.LEGO.com

About Save the Children
Save the Children believes every child deserves a future. Since our founding more than 100 years ago, we've changed the lives of more than 1 billion children. Around the world, we give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. We do whatever it takes for children—every day and in times of crisis—transforming their lives and the future we share.

About the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media (GDIGM)
Founded in 2004 by two-time Academy Award Winning Actor Geena Davis, the Geena Davis Institute (GDI) is the only global research-based organization working collaboratively within entertainment media to systemically increase diverse representation on screen, focusing on six identities: gender, race/ethnicity, LGBTQIA+, disability, age (50+) and body type. If they can see it, they can be it. For more information visit: www.seejane.org

About Peppy Agency
Peppy agency is a Swedish consulting company supporting brands across the kids' media, game and toy industries.
We use our deep insights and experience within social and emotional learning to help brands create safe and age-appropriate products, content, and experiences for kids.
Our mission to nurture well-being, empathy, and kindness in kids everywhere.
www.peppyagency.com

About the LEGO Foundation
“The LEGO Foundation aims to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow; a mission that it shares with the LEGO Group. The LEGO Foundation is dedicated to building a future where learning through play empowers children to become creative, engaged, lifelong learners. Its work is about re-defining play and re-imagining learning. In collaboration with thought leaders, influencers, educators and parents the LEGO Foundation aims to equip, inspire and activate champions for play. www.learningthroughplay.com