Landmark study shows progress and persistent challenges for girls’ development

Plan International’s qualitative and longitudinal research study, Real Choices, Real Lives, has been following the lives of 142 girls in nine countries – Benin, Brazil, Cambodia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Philippines, Togo, Uganda and Vietnam – from their births in 2006 through to 2024 when they turn 18. 

Very few studies have followed the same group of children for so many years – and Real Choices, Real Lives is the only one to focus solely on girls.

To mark the end of the study, Plan International has released a final report, drawing on 18 years of annual interviews documenting girls’ experiences, aspirations, and how gender norms influence their lives. To understand both the progress achieved and the challenges that persist, the report examines the girls’ lives across a wide range of themes: education, resisting gender norms, unpaid care work, health, experiences of violence, agency, employment and climate change.

This timely report reflects the crossroads we face for girls’ rights. In a moment of profound uncertainty and the rise of anti-rights actors shaping the development landscape, it is crucial to reflect on how far we have come so that we can navigate the path ahead.

Real generational progress in advancing girls’ rights

Born at a time of major global momentum for gender equality, the girls in the study have grown up alongside significant progress in advancing girls’ rights. The findings in the report highlight the progress made since their births in 2006. It shows that:

• 65% of girls were completing or had completed secondary education, compared with just 28% of their mothers
• 13%of girls were married or in unions by the age of 18, compared with 46% of their mothers.

As Essohana,17, a study participant from Togo, observes: “Girls’ education is useful because girls also have the right to learn and find work in the future, and as our parents didn’t go to school, we have to go.’’

Uneven progress

But challenges remain in safeguarding girls’ rights. The study’s year-on-year findings illustrate how a lifetime shaped by social exclusion, limited public services and restrictive gender norms limits girls’ opportunities and the resources they need to achieve their aspirations.

• Girls spent an average of 5hrs 15mins a day on unpaid care work.
• Undernutrition and stunting affected 14% of girls in early childhood. Those girls went on to experience significantly poorer health, reporting a higher number of illnesses over the 18 years compared with the rest of the cohort.
• Climate-related weather shocks are increasingly affecting girls’ lives, particularly affecting their school attendance and families’ livelihoods.

While we have learnt how wins for girls’ rights and progress worldwide translates into cross-generational change for the cohort girls, the findings consistently show that gender norms and poverty remain persistent barriers. Speaking as recently as 2019, Juliana, a participant from Brazil, who was then 12, commented: “[My school friends] make fun of me, they say I’m a tomboy, that I’m always playing ball, with the boys… then I tell them that this is sexist, because a girl can play ball just like a boy.”

Protecting the gains made on girls’ rights

Rising economic pressures, escalating climate shocks and a rise in conservatism now threaten the progress that has been made, meaning the girls in the study – and future generations of girls – face real and increasing barriers to securing their rights.

The Real Choices, Real Lives study shows the insights that can be gained when girls are given a platform to speak about their experiences and needs throughout their lifetimes.

Based on what girls have told us over the course of the study, we know the following actions are essential for all actors committed to protecting the gains made on girls’ rights:

• Fund and implement multi-sector action and policy towards gender equality: Deliver well-resourced community programmes that address the root causes of child, early and forced marriage and unions, recognise girls’ unpaid care work, invest in the care sector and celebrate diverse female role models.
• Meaningfully involve girls in designing and implementing policies and programmes: This is essential to address the issues affecting girls across communities, schools, governments, CSOs, INGOs and other international bodies.

To learn more about the study, visit Plan International’s Read Choices Real Lives webpage

If you are attending CSW70 in March 2026, you are welcome to join Plan International’s Side Event celebrating the Real Choices, Real Lives final report. Held in partnership with the Governments of Canada, Mexico, and the European Union, the event will feature cross‑sector dialogue on safeguarding girls’ rights. More details and registration available here: https://bit.ly/RCRLevent