Nurture not nature? How young women can learn to better wield economic power | Heather Stewart
A decade-long research project in Zambia has found that teaching young women negotiation skills as teenagers can significantly improve their long-term economic and social prospects. The study, led by female US academics including Prof Corinne Low of Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, suggests that skills traditionally associated with confident, assertive behaviour can in fact be taught, challenging assumptions about why girls in patriarchal societies struggle to advance educationally and economically.
Girls aged 12 and 13 were given 12 hours of negotiation classes over three weeks, taught by local young women involved in designing the curriculum, with lessons focused on understanding others' perspectives rather than confrontation, while also respecting existing family hierarchies. Compared with a control group who received general "empowerment" classes without negotiation training, the girls who learned to negotiate stayed in school longer, were more likely to graduate from college, and less likely to marry much older men; parents also reported improved relationships with their daughters, describing them as more respectful and understanding.
- Zambian study shows negotiation skills, taught young, boost women's long-term prospects
- Girls given negotiation classes stayed in school longer, avoided early marriage
- Curriculum balanced assertiveness with respect for family hierarchies
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The findings support the view that negotiation is a learnable skill, not simply a trait some people are born with, and that teaching it early can help girls navigate barriers to education and economic opportunity. Because the lessons emphasised understanding others and working within family relationships, they offer a practical way to strengthen young women’s agency while engaging the communities around them.
The case against
The results do not establish that negotiation training alone will reliably overcome the structural constraints young women face, or that the effects will transfer to other settings; the comparison was with general empowerment classes, so the study tests one programme against another rather than against no intervention. A focus on helping girls negotiate within existing hierarchies may also place responsibility on them to adapt to unequal conditions, when lasting progress may depend more on changing those conditions.