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As countries around the world celebrate International Women鈥檚 Day, new statistics show that as teenage girls enter adulthood, they begin to experience roadblocks that challenge their confidence, power and equality.

and partnered to conduct an online survey of more than 1,000 Canadian women aged 18 and older on their experiences with issues related to gender inequality and discrimination. The questions covered a range of themes including leadership, mentorship and empowerment.

This survey, conducted in February, was meant to spark discussions on the deeply-entrenched gender barriers girls and young women face during a critical time in their development: adolescence.

Here are some of the key survey findings:

Six out of 10 Canadian girls aged 14 to 17 (66 per cent) feel equal to their male counterparts, but less than half of Canadian women aged 18 to 24 (44 per cent) feel as equal. As women get older they never again feel as equal to men as they did as teenagers, the survey found.

鈥淲hat happens is that as younger girls and boys, we鈥檙e told that the world is equal and there are the same opportunities for boys and girls and men and women. Although that may be aspirational, we know it鈥檚 far from the truth,鈥� Plan International Canada CEO and President Caroline Riseboro said in a phone interview with CTVNews.ca.

According to Riseboro, perceptions of gender inequality reach a tipping point when girls enter adulthood. They feel less equal because of their gender and confidence is at an all-time low in their lives when it comes to the belief they can lead, the belief their ideas are taken seriously and feeling empowered to share their opinions.

A majority of teenage girls (60 per cent) believe they have the same opportunity as men to lead鈥� but only 38 per cent of young women 18 to 24 share this belief. Only 42 per cent of women 25 and older believe they have the same opportunity to lead as their male counterparts.

According to Amy Bing, a Plan International Canada Youth Ambassador, roadblocks such as feeling less competent then men are considered normal for adolescent girls to have to go through.

鈥淎 lot of young women like me have to face the imposter syndrome,鈥� Bing said in an over-the-phone interview with CTVNews.ca.

鈥淲e always doubt ourselves and our qualifications. Even if on paper our skills match every other individual as well as our male counterparts鈥慸oes that mean we鈥檙e qualified?鈥�

Bing said that it鈥檚 unfortunate that women feel this way because with women leading there is no harm.

鈥淚 think there鈥檙e a lot of misconceptions surrounding the fact that in order to bring women up you must push and bring men down which is completely false,鈥� Bing said.

Sixty-four per cent of girls aged 14 to 17 believe their ideas are taken as seriously, but only 43 per cent of young women and 49 per cent of women 25 and older share that belief.

鈥淎s soon as girls start moving from ages 14-17 to 18-24 and older, they don鈥檛 believe they have the same opportunities to lead. What we find is that their ideas aren鈥檛 taken as seriously as others. They fear sharing their opinions in public,鈥� Riseboro said.

According to Riseboro, Plan is already working on supporting girls and women all over the world but what they were surprised to find out is that this is also a critical time of both vulnerability and roadblock for young women in Canada too.

鈥淣ot only does this challenge our power but our freedom and our equality,鈥� Bing said. 鈥淲e see a large drop in that shift between adolescence and womanhood. That鈥檚 one critical period that we need to address and that we need to work towards changing.鈥�

Three-quarters (75 per cent) of young Canadian women say they鈥檝e regularly or occasionally felt societal pressure to change their physical appearance in order to fit in, which is nearly twice as often as women 25 and older (42 per cent).

According to Riseboro, when girls transition to womanhood, they are more likely to feel pressure to change the way they look and act in order to fit in and avoid roadblocks. These perceptions only improve marginally over a woman鈥檚 adult life, rarely exceeding those of teenagers.

鈥淚鈥檓 still walking into these rooms where I鈥檓 a minority or I look different than the majority. When you look different than the majority you do feel the pressure to change and try to merge and meld in with everyone else because you want to feel accepted,鈥� Riseboro said.

Seventy-two per cent of Canadian women 18 to 24 say they鈥檝e regularly or occasionally felt pressure to change their behaviour because of their gender, which is nearly 1.5 times as often as women 25 and older (53 per cent).

Riseboro said the challenge is that women haven鈥檛 been traditionally accepted in the past and that may be why they constantly feel the pressure to change.

According to Riseboro, it鈥檚 really important to understand what the reality is.

鈥淲e live in an era where we鈥檙e talking more than ever about gender equality and women鈥檚 empowerment. While it鈥檚 wonderful the dialogue is happening, the reality is on International Women鈥檚 Day of 2019, these statistics show that women are still facing many barriers,鈥� Riseboro said.

Canadians are encouraged to amplify the voices of adolescent girls and really support their transition as they move into confident, powerful women who can unleash their full potential.

鈥淲hat these survey results have revealed is that the transition from girlhood to womanhood is a really vulnerable time and we have to do better to build up the next generation of empowered women,鈥� Riseboro said.

Plan International offers tool kits, presentation material and guides that help spread the word about the importance of making sure girls have the opportunity reach their full potential.