A very interesting insight into what went on behind the scenes in the creation of emblematic girls' comics; I dimly remember girl classmates at school in the 1970s reading some of these but had no idea of the carefully crafted policies going on at the magazine publishers! The stories of culls of writers and plans to outflank rivals are fascinating.
I've done some research into the stories and writers of the 1940s and 1950s girls comics while doing a book on the background to the world of post-Second World War authors like Enid Blyton, and noted then that some 'gritty realism' stories about hard-up and bullied working-class girls - and even a bit of mild criticism of racism in the Empire / Commonwealth did creep into some of the 1950s comics, eg 'School Friend' and 'Girls Crystal'. These, as said, were usually written by men from the long-term IPC and other firms' 'stables' of children's magazines, mostly boys' ones and heavily influenced by Charles Hamilton(creator of Billy Bunter and co) and his 1910s-1930s rivals. They usually use women's pseudonyms, but a few women writers did get in, usually wives of current male writers - it was very cliquey'.
The stories that did feature oppressed working-class girls and bullied ones from racial minorities were however almost all 'exotic' ones set overseas, as if reassuring readers and their parents and teachers that of course the UK was better; they usually had 'our heroines', nice middle-class girls on holiday abroad, appealed to and helping out a working-class contemporary from the said country as she tried to enter some competition (sports, dance, song, music etc) and win a prize that would give her the cash and patrons to escape a bullying relative, guardian or employer - never a natural parent. Alternatively, a potential benefactor was trying to locate and help the girl and her guardian was trying to hide her from them. The UK girls would then help their friend to outwit the villain and all would end happily.
The 'racism' stories were usually adventure ones set in the remoter areas of the Commonwealth , usually Canada, and would feature Native American girls - called 'Redskins' and treated dismissively by the adults -being falsely accused of some crime by the bullying local authorities, often Park rangers or town officials , and helped by Our Heroines who lacked their seniors' prejudice. There were even some 'one white girl, one non-white girl' teenage detective teams - a bit like and probably inspired by the Lone Ranger and Tonto on the radio. Some of it was a bit iffy by modern standards and the language and patronising tones were a bit dubious, with the British girls looked up to by the locals, but it was a start and hopefully helped people to question established attitudes on the quiet. And in fact 'Girl' was go-ahead in some respects, especially its mainly female staff and having writers like Betty Roland and 'Girl Adventurer' stories.