London , England ( CNN ) -- Female role models are a very powerful and positive image to implant into young girls ' psyches . In a recent study of 1000 UK women aged 18 to 60 , the lack of role-models emerged as one of the top barriers to female success in the workplace . A mindset shift in girls can not be achieved by inspirational Instagram memes and philosophical Facebook statuses , but by closing the gap between the success they see or have heard of , and the ideas that they hold about themselves . Founded in 2011 , I'mPOSSIBLE seeks to empower young girls and women , specifically those of color , to define success on their own terms , and inspire them through life stories of those who never lost sight of their possibilities . Last Thursday I held the first youth edition of the I'mPOSSIBLE conversation at the UK House of Commons , in partnership with UK MP Diane Abbott . The event was organized to commemorate the 21st anniversary of Bring Your Daughters to Work Day , which shares the same goals of giving young girls the opportunity to express how they envisage their future . Having the chance to see parental figures in professional roles helps schoolgirls combat gender stereotypes , addresses self-esteem issues , and provides them with tangible examples of role models from their own culture and ethnicity . Michelle Obama is a strong supporter of the day and brings over 180 children to the White House to spend the morning discovering different paths their futures may hold . Over 37 million participants marked the day in the U.S. last year , and we took part in the only official UK event of the program , which was acknowledged by the Obamas in a personal message sent to us . Leading by example . In its short existence I'mPOSSIBLE has already hosted numerous trailblazing professionals such as Margaret Casely-Hayford , head of legal services at John Lewis , Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock MBE , a space scientist , and Hope Powell CBE , England women 's football coach . The youth edition welcomed five successful young women of color from the worlds of media , film , and law who all shared their life stories with girls aged 12 to 18 from London schools and youth projects . We hope that these girls , sitting in the home of the UK government , felt inspired by leading women from similar backgrounds to theirs , who faced many of the same challenges but nonetheless carved a path to success , while staying true to themselves . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Simone Bresi-Ando .
I'mPOSSIBLE is a social enterprise designed to inspire young girls of color by providing role models . They have hosted platforms with prominent ethnic minority professional women . I'mPOSSIBLE teamed up with Diane Abbott 's Black Women Mean Business initiative for an event at the House of Commons . Ernst & Young study found that lack of role models is one of the top barriers to female success at work .