The words used to describe young girls are often very different to those applied to boys. Girls are "princesses" where boys are "heros", they are "pretty" while boys are "strong" – however, a new app from Plan International wants to challenge these stereotypes. 

The humanitarian group has created a predictive text app called 'Sheboard' which which seeks to raise awareness of the impacts of gendered speech, particularly when it comes to the impact certain phrases have on how girls perceive their abilities. 

The app works by suggesting words to Empower Girls and swaps stereotypical expressions to ones that pack a punch.  

"We want to help people see the impact that words have, and make them consider ways in which they can change how they talk in order to empower girls," said Plan’s global coordinator for digital development Nora Lindström.

"Gender roles bind us from birth Strict Gender Roles affect both girls and boys from birth, all over the world. However, gender roles have a particularly negative effect on girls.

"According to a recent study, by the time girls are six years old they are likely to have internalized old-fashioned stereotypes suggesting boys are better suited for fields that require a certain type of intellectual capability such as mathematics and physics."

Sheboard was developed with help from Samsung Electronics Nordics. A series of promotional videos from Hasan & Partners have been doing the rounds on social promoting the product.