Stylist is proud to have contributed to a new guide that will help parents support their daughters as they make important decisions about their next steps.

Stylist has worked with the Government Equalities Office to supply our entire back archive of Work/Life features to be included in the guide that will be available to parents. Our Work/Life subjects reflect a huge range of career choices and women that girls can look up to and aspire to be.

You can download the guide here

Your Daughter’s Future was developed with the help of girls aged 12 – 16 who have a wide range of career goals, from politics to sport and midwifery. It sets out what support they want from their parents as they weigh up exam and careers options.

We spoke to Nikki Yates, the Senior Vice President UK and Ireland Pharmaceuticals and UK General Manager for GSK, on behalf of the Women’s Business Council. The goal of this guide is “to make sure that girls can be ambitious and choose from the broadest range of careers.”

When she was in school the career advice she received was extremely narrow and coached women in to nursing or physiotherapy versus science and engineering roles.

She began her career as a Registered General Nurse (RGN) at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital in London before joining the pharmaceutical industry as a medical representative. Over 24 years she has gained broad and deep commercial experience across a range of therapy areas including Respiratory, Oncology, Neurology, Vaccines, HIV and Anaesthesia.

Her passion for this initiative and for encouraging young women to enter STEM fields is also influenced by having two daughters who will soon be making the choices discussed in the guide.

According to the Women’s Business Council, women remain much more likely to work in sectors traditionally regarded as female. 23.1% of women work in public administration, health or education, compared with 8.6% of men. In contrast, only 0.9% of women work in construction, (6.1% of men) and only 2.6% of women work in manufacturing (7.1% of men). This contributes to the gender pay gap. Too often it is because young women lack advice and support to get into these careers and have too few female role models in these sectors to help challenge stereotypes.

This guide was developed by the PSHE Association in conjunction with girls, parents and teachers from five schools, as well as Girl Guiding UK, Stylist magazine, the National Careers Council, and the Education and Employers Taskforce.

Stylist contributes to newly released Government Equalities Office pack for all parents of teenage girls