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.