Had it not been for the program, young girls like Ms Broadbent and fellow participant, Eve Davis, would not have known so easily who they want to be when older.

The young women's leadership program aims to support young women in Tuggeranong high schools build skills and confidence to prepare them for the future.

Youth outreach worker Natasha Drumgold said the eight-week program informed girls on issues concerning modern-day women such as media portrayal, stereotypes and societal norms.

"This program is more about teaching girls to identify where gender inequality exists. Having this knowledge can be empowering, but it is ultimately up to each girl as to how she responds. Some will want to fight it head on, others may learn to side step or ignore it," Ms Drumgold said.

The program, funded by Young Women's Christian Association of Canberra (YWCA) – a non-profit organisation which provides services on women issues since 1929 – is part of an umbrella of programs provided by the organisation.

Other programs such as Respect Communicate Choose, Relationship Things and Every-Girl have faced financial difficulties after $1.6 million was axed by this year's federal budget. Other coursessuch as the She Leads leadership program continue because they are self-funded.

"We're calling the government to reinstate the $1.6 million to women's leadership and development over the next four years," said YWCA Canberra's Executive Director Frances Crimmins.

She said YWCA of Canberra has been fortunate enough to receive some donations to the Respectful Relationships program, which aims to educate young people on violence against women.

"I think people really understand educating young people around prevention of violence is really important, but we haven't received enough to do a whole school approach in the ACT, which is what you need if you are going to make a cultural change to gender inequality in this country," Ms Crimmins said.

The She Speaks 2014 nationwide survey of 1643 young women conducted by the University of Queensland and YWCA found that 71 per cent of women wanted to be leaders in the future but 80 per cent felt that equality had not yet been achieved.

"The She Speaks survey was aimed for women 15 to 30 and what young women repeatedly told us in that survey is that they want leadership opportunities," Ms Crimmins said.

The Y-Aspire program was delivered through seven high schools throughout the territory in 2014, and so far the feedback has been overwhelmingly supportive.

"Our Y-Aspire program for young girls builds confidence at this critical, formative time in their lives," Ms Crimmins said.

All participants rated the program as 'good' or 'excellent' while 60 per cent believed they had gained not only a stronger sense of identity but also reported an increase in self-esteem.

"I would recommend this to other girls … I would say [to potential participants] it was amazing and fun and can bring out who you really are," Ms Broadbent said.

Both girls nodded their heads in agreement.