Ban Bossy encourages young female leadership

by Ayushi Gautam, Opinion editor|April 7, 2014

Two hands shoot up in a classroom when a teacher asks a question. Two hands that look nearly identical. If one hand was a girl’s and the other a boy’s, would that affect the teacher’s decision?

According to Mary Wollstonecraft’s Thoughts on the Education of Daughters with Reflections of Female Conduct in the More Important Duties of Life, the instructor would have picked the male student in the nineteenth century, but now the situation is changing as Sheryl Sandberg’s “Ban Bossy” campaign aims to bridge the gender gap in classrooms today. According to banbossy.com, girls speak less in classroom discussions and a girl’s self esteem drops 3.5 times more than a boy’s in between elementary school and high school.

Ban Bossy, an organization founded by Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, strives to empower young females to become leaders in their communities without being called “bossy.” According to banbossy.com, “bossy” is a word that can be used to subdue some girls and Sandberg aims to ban “bossy” because, according to banbossy.com, this word can be used to subdue some girls.

In the promotional video for this campaign, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter states, “I am not bossy. I am the boss.” With the support of luminaries including Beyoncé, Condoleezza Rice, and Jane Lynch, Sandberg promotes Ban Bossy through a variety of social media networks. On the Ban Bossy website, viewers have the option to pledge that they will #BanBossy by sharing their support via Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, or Google Plus.

Along with displaying inspirational quotes, the campaign website provides a handbook of leadership tips for girls, teachers, and parents. These handbooks include a range of exercises and goals for teachers and parents to help include girls in leadership positions.

 

“Teachers can be the catalyst for this change by recognizing that every time a girl is ridiculed or maligned for being forthright, bold or ‘bossy’ that this is a micro-aggression being perpetrated on her self-esteem,” Donna Gilbert, Head of History and Social Sciences Department. “The classroom is a perfect place for the healing to start.”

 

In the United States, a female has never been elected to be the President. At the Upper School, there is only one female representative each in the freshman and sophomore class councils as well as in the Associated Student Body (ASB).  Despite this unequal representation of genders, Sarah Bean, junior class council president, believes that the school has an encouraging environment for girls.

“If you are a girl who wants to run for ASB President, then do it. Your voice will be heard just as loudly as a male candidate’s would if you are just as knowledgeable, receptive, and passionate,” Sarah said. “The goal of leadership is to make the people you are leading even more wonderful, so it doesn’t matter if you are a boy or a girl as long as you lead the way.”

As the campaign receives more attention in the media, people are starting to find faults in Sandberg’s recent initiative. Columnists from all over the world have expressed their negative views on Ban Bossy by headlining their articles “Don’t Ban the Bossy.”

 

When comparing the definitions of “bossy” to “leader,” many claim that banning the word “bossy” does not help encourage female leadership at a young age and is an unnecessarily powerful action.

“I don’t agree with the movement because you can call a guy bossy too,” Zarek Drozda (10) said. “It’s not gender specific.”

To learn more about the initiative or make a pledge, you can visit banbossy.com or post on social media sites with #banbossy.

This article was originally published in the pages of the Winged Post on April 4, 2014.