Shonda Rhimes transformed television with her hit shows such as Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal, and now the five-time Emmy nominee wants to transform something else — the “dream gap.”

Rhimes teamed with Barbie to close the “dream gap,” a “heartbreaking” phenomenon where are girls as young as five are led to believe they aren’t as smart or as capable as their male counterparts. In order to break this “widespread… problem,” she says parents need to stop limiting their expectations for their daughters.

“Overcoming the dream gap has to do with your parents and how you’re raised,” Rhimes explained. “My parents never allowed me to think that there was a dream gap for me. Their dreams for me were as big as their dreams were for my brothers or for anybody else.”

“I was lucky enough to be raised in a household where I was expected to be president of the United States… My father literally used to say to me, ‘If you can believe it, you can achieve it,'” she continued.

Rhimes understands not everyone was raised by supportive parents, which is why she hopes her new partnership will inspire more female role models to step up and encourage girls to embrace their full potential.

As for the advice she has for those who have been tricked by the dream gap, she says, “There’s absolutely no evidence or reason why you should be settling for less than your greatest or your best or anything that you want to have happen…  Nobody asked men to settle, so I don’t think anybody should be asking a woman to settle.” 

Barbie is honoring the Shondaland CEO with her own one-of-a-kind Barbie doll, as part of their Role Models line that highlights 11 other women, which you can see here.

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