Dove is on a mission to boost the self-esteem of young girls and women across Britain.

The cosmetics brand is alarmed by the “shocking discontentment” felt by young girls about their appearance.

In a survey of 500 girls between the ages of 11 and 17, it found that nearly half – 45 per cent – describe themselves as ‘average’ and ‘ordinary’.

A further 10 per cent feel ‘plain’, ‘unattractive’ and ‘ugly’.

The manufacturer also found in its research that young girls are spending more time on make-up, beauty treatments and clothing than they are on their homework.

Dove said that social media portals could in fact be hindering the confidence of girls in interacting with others face-to-face after a staggering 60 per cent of girls using the internet agreed that they felt more confident when interacting with people online.

Low self-esteem affects how young girls feel about their future careers, with only one in three feeling confident they will have a successful career in the future.

This has a huge impact on the medical and legal professions with the potential number of female doctors and lawyers reducing by 17 per cent.

That’s a shortfall of 20,000 female lawyers and around 35,000 doctors by 2050.

It has some gloomy predictions for the nation and the future development of today's teenage girls if they are not able to turn around the way they see themselves.

By 2050, low self-esteem could cost the nation 14 per cent of our female managers in UK businesses, 16 per cent of our British female Olympics, 21 per cent of our female MPs, and 17 per cent of female doctors and lawyers.

It could also cost the nation 62 female MPs by 2050 and reduce the chance of a female Prime Minister before that time by 18 per cent.

Mum featured top of the list - 37 per cent - as the most positive role model for young girls, ahead of female celebrities like Cheryl Cole - 8 per cent, Angelina Jolie - 4 per cent - and Kate Middleton - 3 per cent.

Ali Fisher, Dove Marketing Manager says, “We are passionate about our social mission and want to continue to help young girls and women develop a positive relationship with their bodies.

“We’ve already reached over 800,000 young people in the UK as part of our Dove Self-Esteem Programme and our aim is to reach 1 million by the end of 2012. We really hope to create a step change for self-esteem with our 2012 campaign.”