The Problem
Girls lose confidence 3.5 times faster than boys — right as they move from middle school into high school. That’s the exact moment they start pulling back from leadership, from speaking up, from believing their ideas belong at the table.
Senator Olympia Snowe saw this firsthand. After 40 years in public service, she knew what was missing in rooms where decisions get made: women with strong ideas, confident voices, and a seat at the table. When she left the Senate in 2012, she didn’t look for a quieter next chapter — she looked for the moment where that confidence gap could still be closed.
The Solution
Senator Snowe built it. Starting in 2015, the Olympia Snowe Women’s Leadership Institute created a three-year program for the exact window where confidence is most at risk:
- My Values (10th grade)
- My Voice (11th grade)
- My Vision (12th grade)
It started with 49 girls in seven schools across Androscoggin County. Today, it reaches more than 650 girls annually.
The confidence gap doesn’t close itself. More than 1,184 girls have graduated to prove it — and they’re carrying that confidence into classrooms, workplaces, and communities across Maine.