Cast your mind back to being 13 years old. What did you want to be when you grew up? And did you ever feel like there were things you couldn’t do simply because you were a girl?

If the answer is yes, then you’re not alone. The frustrating career issues that affect us as adults, including pregnancy discrimination and the gender pay gap, don’t spring out of nowhere: the bias against girls appears to weave itself into the foundations of our social structure well before we finish secondary school.

Research from Accenture suggests gender prejudice is imposed on girls from a young age, with over half of teachers (54%) admitting they have seen girls dropping subjects that relate to male-dominated STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) careers due to pressure from their parents. This year has seen a rise in female students studying STEM subjects at A-level, but overall these subjects are still dominated by males.

So just how strongly do teen schoolgirls feel this undercurrent of sexism, even now? And what hope is there for change? Here, Stylist.co.uk talks to 10 teenage girls about what they want to do with their future careers – and whether they think following their dreams will be harder simply because of their gender.

10 inspirational teen girls on battling sexism at school