Conversely, if significant others belittle a girl and communicate that she is not worthwhile in her own right, she will tend to view herself as unworthy. Low levels of self-esteem in young women may be the result of discrimination, sexism, inequities in all aspects of life, harassment, abuse, dysfunctional family life, a lack of female role models, poor parenting or the portrayal of women in the media. Young women with high levels of self-esteem are likely to be happy and confident, to perform well in school, to be popular and to participate in physical activity. While every young woman is unique, recent Canadian studies paint a negative composite picture of self-esteem and young women in Canada today. Although a majority of young women say they feel good about themselves, young men consistently score higher on all measures of self-esteem.
Young women are more likely to do nothing when bullied and to avoid confrontation at all costs.
This view is shared by others in society, including male peers. As a result, a girl's competency in physical activity constantly falls further behind her male peers. She may select only activities that are traditionally female, or worse, be turned off physical activity altogether. There is good evidence to suggest that sport, active living and physical education can have a positive effect on self-esteem in adolescent women. Indeed, we have a moral responsibility to offer programs with ethical leadership that foster feelings of self-worth.