Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead
Knopf
March 11, 2013
217
Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In is a massive cultural phenomenon and its title has become an instant catchphrase for empowering women. The book soared to the top of bestseller lists internationally, igniting global conversations about women and ambition. Sandberg packed theatres, dominated opinion pages, appeared on every major television show and on the cover of Time magazine, and sparked ferocious debate about women and leadership.
Ask most women whether they have the right to equality at work and the answer will be a resounding yes, but ask the same women whether they'd feel confident asking for a raise, a promotion, or equal pay, and some reticence creeps in.
The statistics, although an improvement on previous decades, are certainly not in women's favour – of 197 heads of state, only twenty-two are women. Women hold just 20 percent of seats in parliaments globally, and in the world of big business, a meagre eighteen of the Fortune 500 CEOs are women.
In Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg – Facebook COO and one of Fortunemagazine's Most Powerful Women in Business – draws on her own experience of working in some of the world's most successful businesses and looks at what women can do to help themselves, and make the small changes in their life that can effect change on a more universal scale.
My Review:
I had the chance to study this book for two semesters in my Women Helping Women Program, through the Center of Advanced Leadership. Women in higher education and careers, leadership, equal pay, and gender gaps are big issues in today’s world.
Sheryl Sanberg gives you a clear, relevant, and necessary voice to the issues of leadership and equality for women and men and understanding for parents who work in and out of home. She raises some important issues.
She makes excellent point on of the issue of equality for both sexes. Many will say that this is a crazy feminist book. But I want to remind them what feminism is. Feminism by definition is: “The belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. It is the theory of the political, economic and social equality of the sexes.” This isn’t one of those lets sit down together and whine about the situation. It’s a book that will give you insights and empowerment.
I had a lot of felling while reading this book, for one it is so sad that society is still where it is.Also, I felt like this was really important for me to read as someone who inspiring to be a working women.
This book is a call for leadership, an invitation to participate in creating a society where the values of women, men, mothers, and fathers. Where women value and support each other, and to value and support yourself.
I highly recommend this book. I’m definitely leaning in…
The Leadership Ambition Gap: What Would You Do if You Weren’t Afraid?
- Sit at the Table
- Success and Likeability
- It’s a Jungle Gym, Not a Ladder
- Are You My Mentor?
- Seek and Speak Your Truth
- Don’t Leave before you Leave
- Make your Partner a real Partner
- The Myth of Doing it All
- Let’s Start Talking about it
- Working Together Toward Equality
