First, it was Lean In author and chief operating officer of Facebook Sheryl Sandberg, then the  Girl Scouts, and former Secretary of Sate Condoleezza Rice. Now celebrities like Beyoncé, Jennifer Garner and Geena Davis are teaming up to eliminate one word from  our vocabulary, “bossy”.

“We know that by middle school, more boys than girls want to lead,” says Sandberg. “And if you ask girls why they don’t want to lead, whether it’s the school project all the way on to running for office, they don’t want to be called bossy, and they don’t want to be disliked.”

Sandberg’s organization Lean In is joining forces with former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Girl Scouts USA CEO Anna Maria Chávez to launch a public service campaign called “Ban Bossy.” The banbossy.com website gives tips for parents, kids, teachers and others about how to encourage young female leaders.

The PSA released earlier this week is well on its way to over a million hits with the theme “words matter.”

The Ban Bossy campaign is picking up steam with groups like AARP, Google, and YWCA of Greater Portland lending their support.

PRP