Mar 11, 2014 10:34 AM EDT
Ban 'Bossy': Beyonce and Other Female Celebrities Unite in Campaign Empowering Girls to Lead

They are pushy and stubborn, but never bossy.

According to ABC News, in an effort to ban the word "bossy" from vocabularies, female celebrity stars like Beyonce, actress Jennifer Gardner, and designer and singer Victoria Beckham are teaming up for a campaign that encourages leadership in girls.

The campaign was created by the Girl Scouts of USA and LeanIn.Org, a nonprofit founded by Sheryl Sandberg, author of "Lean In" and Facebook's chief operating officer. The movement is filled with female and some male leaders who claim that the "leadership attitudes are often squashed in girls."

"The confidence gap starts early," the "Ban Bossy" website stated. "Between elementary and high school, girls' self-esteem drops 3.5 times more than boys."

"I think the word 'bossy' is just a squasher," Jane Lynch said in a promotional video for the campaign.

"Let's just ban the word bossy!" designer Diane Von Furstenberg proclaimed.

Garner, who has two daughters and one son with husband Ben Affleck, points out, "Being labeled something matters." Beyonce noted that by middle school, "girls are less interested in leadership than boys," because they are afraid of being labeled.

"We need to recognize the many ways we systematically discourage leadership in girls from a young age - and instead, we need to encourage them," Sandberg said. "So the next time you have the urge to call your little girl bossy? Take a deep breath and praise her leadership skills instead."

The PSA standing up for female empowerment also includes participation from former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, CNN foreign correspondent Christiane Amanpour, Nascar champion Jimmie Johnson, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, CEO of the Girl Scouts of the USA Anna Maria Chavez, and Sandberg

The campaign ad ends with Beyonce declaring "I'm not bossy, I'm the boss."

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