No one appointed me as the leader of this project. (Too often, I think, women wait to be ordained as leaders.) Instead, as the most passionate person in my organization about this particular initiative, I took it and ran with it.

We’re concluding this phase of the project, and an interesting word has emerged to describe my role.

Helper.

Huh? I’ve done a lot in this role, but not once would I describe my work as helpful. To me, the word diminished my role on the project, implying that I was a passenger instead of the driver.

So I wondered: are we are biased to see women as helpers in an organization and not as leaders?

This 2014 article from Fast Company discusses the research behind a phenomenon called role congruity, in which “the primitive part of our brain is thrown into conflict when confronted by a woman in charge.”

A 2005 study, referenced in this article on why women should stop being so helpful at work, concluded that men benefit from displaying helpfulness at work while withholding helpfulness hurts women.

We have been advised as women to avoid office housework and to avoid taking on menial tasks or thankless projects.

But what happens when women do step into the spotlight and lead, yet we are still diminished? I’ve come up with a few suggestions on ways to change the conversation.

Amplify. Female White House staffers in 2009 employed a strategy they called amplification to empower their colleagues, by repeating their ideas out loud to ensure they were acknowledged and heard. Men and women alike should use empowering action words like ‘lead,’ ‘direct,’ ‘execute,’ and ‘mobilize,’ to describe a woman’s work and her role. This is especially important at the executive level as it sets the tone for how women should be described.

Recognize. Seize opportunities to recognize women in leadership roles, formal or informal. Be sure to employ the empowering action words to describe their work to maximize the impact.

Socialize. Share your stories about boss women doing great things using #womenlead on social media.