Lean In

Very good read

Sheryl Sandberg certainly has a way with words - this book manages to make a strong case for gender equality without once sounding hackneyed or distastefully overbearing. Her candid admissions of second guessing her choices, and the narration of instances where women in power are branded as over-ambitious and unlikeable, ring true for every working woman. Personally, what I liked the most is the fact that the narrative is delightfully straight forward - I almost felt like I was talking to Sheryl face to face and nodding in agreement. She doesn't prescribe any quick fixes to solve the issues that cause negative perceptions about working women, instead, this entire book addresses the root cause and seeks to make both men and women aware of it. I ardently hope that we won't have to wait too long for the day when we can all look back at this book and say that we're past most of the glaring issues that women face because the seeds of change were sown when this book was written.

Reading LEAN IN provides additional perspective. I have recommended reading it in my circle. I have received appreciation for my recommendation.

Every female should read this book, highly recommended

inspiring !

I bought the book after several recommendations. I am usually intrigued by stories of women in and around and when it comes to a woman making it all the way to the top, I just couldn't stop myself. Lean in is mostly an ask from the author to come together as a community of men and women and help the women rise in her career. It has anecdotes and experiences from her own life, family, friends and colleagues and some pulled from other successful women in Business. It's a great read if you are woman trying to make your own paths in your career. Being an ivy league and an extreme hard worker, it's sad to hear that she too had to struggle for her position but at the same time inspiring that if you have the intention and labour you can make it.

Had I got an option, I would have given 10 stars to this book! The book beautifully illustrates how women engulf and hold themselves back by the internal barriers, how societal cues inoculates their minds with “appropriate” behavior right from young age, compromising their career goals, beset by self-doubt and deprecating and muting their own achievements. It is rightly said in the book that when a girl tries to lead, she is often labeled bossy, whereas boys are seldom called so because it doesn’t surprise or offend. The gender stereotypes introduced in childhood are reinforced throughout our lives and become self-fulfilling prophesies. The image of a happy couple is still perceived as the one which includes a husband who is more professionally successful than the wife. If the reverse occurs, it is considered as threatening to the marriage. The book also describes how women hold one another back and how they internalize disparaging cultural attitude towards each other without even realizing it. The author endeavors to drive home that a truly equal world would be one where women ran half our countries and companies and men ran half our homes. Compared to males, fewer of women aspire to senior positions. Condition for all women will improve when there are more women in leadership roles giving strong and powerful voice to their needs and concerns. I could fully identify with a fact mentioned in the book that merits can be manipulated in favor of men to justify discrimination. It is been limned that while evaluating identically described male and female candidates for a particular job, those who claimed to be the most impartial actually exhibited more bias in favor of male candidates. Men at the top are often unaware of the benefits they enjoy simply because they are men, and this can make them blind to the disadvantages associated with being a woman. Sheryl has brought up a significant yet subtle reality that when people talk about a female pilot, a female engineer, or a female race car driver, the word “female” implies a bit of surprise. Men in the professional world are rarely seen through this same gender lens. Gender wars can be appeased and true equality can be achieved through fighting the stereotypes that hold us back. I just cannot stop myself from touting about the author and her book…

I haven't nodded so much while reading any other book as this one. It is spot on! All the dilemmas, all the cultural norms, all the guilt-trips, roadblocks that women are either faced with or put up for themselves, it's here: recognized, researched and represented in a way every woman can relate. It is gratifying to learn how women across the world, irrespective of countries, cultures, religions, social status, etc. are more similar than they are different. Sometimes inequality exists in such a subtle way that it is hard to notice and easier to deny. Yet it is there. While this book is labelled as a 'business book', I believe it is more of a 'human' book, the one that teaches us not to discard the feminine aspects to succeed in business, but how to celebrate them. WOMEN: You owe reading this book to yourself. Add it to your shopping list. Or grocery list. Or any other list. It's better if you could read it at the beginning of your career or before you get married, but if not so, still read it. And gift a copy of it to your friends as well. It is such an important book, I believe I will be re-reading it again and again. MEN: You owe reading this book for all the women in your life- your mother, your wife, daughters, sisters, friends, colleagues, employees, etc. And to yourself - for your business or career or marriage or relationships. [I bought a paperback copy of this book. The page quality and print were alright. Unlike some of the reviews, mine was a legit copy]

Did not impact me as a woman much. It targets working moms specifically and not women in general in the workplace. Nice to read if you ran out of new books ideas but did not make any impact.

I had heard the buzz about Sheryl Sandberg's Lead In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead that many of you may have heard as well. Written by an elitist with a double Harvard degree who was mentored by Larry Summers (gasp!) and is worth hundreds of millions in stock from Google and Facebook (oh no!), she couldn't possibly have anything to say to women in less fortunate positions. It was a vanity book designed to elevate Facebook (really?). I have to admit that it has been a long time since I remember a book being so roundly condemned by so many who hadn't even read it. The fact that a book authored by a woman about women was raising such a stink intrigued me. If I hadn't planned to read it before, I certainly looked forward to reading it now. I should be used to pundits being wrong. Honestly, there were some points in this book that almost had me wishing I were thirty years younger and still working. It takes a lot to do that. I am happy with my life (except for the grief part) and I don't generally envy the lot of today's working women. Lean In is not so much a feminist manifesto, as it is a hands-on guide to how a woman can think about and alter her chances for success. From the cultural inhibitions that women internalize to the social judgments levied on our performance, Sandberg presents possibilities for change. She addresses many of the same issues I tried to deal with in my career. And although I did okay, I know that some of the advice she offers would have made it possible for me to do a lot more. (Of course in those days she could not have attended Harvard. Or Yale. And COO of Facebook? Not likely.) Times have changed since Betty Friedan. Women can now attend Harvard. Women can become the COO of Facebook. But not enough of them do. And that is what Sandberg is trying to change with Lean In. Well researched and documented, Sandberg uses statistics, personal anecdotes, and stories from other successful women to present her case. She then uses some common sense, more research, and creative thinking to propose solutions. From the book: "I am fully aware that most women are not focused on changing social norms for the next generation but simply trying to get through each day. Forty percent of employed mothers lack sick days and vacation leave, and about 50 percent of employed mothers are unable to take time off to care for a sick child. 21 Only about half of women receive any pay during maternity leave. 22 These policies can have severe consequences; families with no access to paid family leave often go into debt and can fall into poverty. 23 Part-time jobs with fluctuating schedules offer little chance to plan and often stop short of the forty-hour week that provides basic benefits. 24 Too many work standards remain inflexible and unfair, often penalizing women with children. Too many talented women try their hardest to reach the top and bump up against systemic barriers. So many others pull back because they do not think they have a choice. All of this brings me back to Leymah Gbowee's insistence that we need more women in power. When leadership insists that these policies change, they will. Google put in pregnancy parking when I asked for it and it remains there long after I left. We must raise both the ceiling and the floor." Yes, Sheryl Sandberg has had a storied career, leaving her worth close to a billion dollars, named as one of Forbes top five most powerful women in the world, but then, who would want to read a book by a failure? Who wants advice from someone who hasn't succeeded in making a difference? Maybe this is all just an evil plot to grow Facebook's audience and the value of her stock. Or maybe it just is what she says it is. A way forward for women and their life partners. (She devotes an entire chapter to how important a life partner is to anyone's success in life.) Lean In doesn't have to have all of the answers in order to be pointing in the right direction. It is clear that the women's movement has stalled: on Friday North Dakota passed the most repressive anti-women laws the nation has ever seen, virtually denying women the rights guaranteed by Roe vs Wade, and we learned that NYPD officers have been ordered to run criminal record checks on the victims of domestic abuse. Clearly we need to do something. Until we have a greater share of power, our rights will continue to be dictated to us by others. It is time women started reaching for the levers of power in corporations, institutions and governments. Lean In doesn't stop with the last page. In addition to her TED talk, she has set up, of course, a Facebook page, and a website looking to continue the conversation. She envisions women meeting in small (8 to 12) Lean In Circles to learn from each other and support each other's growth. Small circles that have been disparagingly referred to as a throwback to the consciousness raising of times gone by. What her critics forget is that those consciousness raising parties did a lot of good back in the day. Jodi Kantor, of the New York Times, in an attempt to show how evil this plot is, published a copy of the document that is being circulated to potential corporate partners in the Lean In movement. (BTW, said corporate partners are only asked the use of their logos and endorsement, not funding, and their support for their employees who chose to join the circles.) I read the document, which I found here: [...] And wish that when my girlfriends and I got together during the 70s in an informal support group at a nearby watering hole that we could have had access to the material and format of the new Lean In Circles. We got the job done, and helped other women move along their career paths, but not nearly enough and not quickly enough. All profits from her book go to LeanIn.org which is a non-profit public benefit corporation that runs the website of the same name. Lean In is not for all women. Nor is it meant to be. Not all women want a high powered career and a family. But for those who do, and for their partners, it is a book well worth reading.

Great book, well founded and quoted. Also refreshing and confronting. I really hope for more men to read this kind of texts to understand the importance of having equality in jobs and homes.

I don't really enjoy the capitalistic feminism in which women are superior and men are not or women are always the victims and men attack. This book was more about humanism and equal rights. It's not about women taking advantage for granted but more like, women should also work hard enough. Also, the business (or the world) has been so man-centric which resulted in disregarding woman's needs. Women have been forced to work and live in a man-centric world and the author was saying that we should come forth to speak out. Also, we should respect one's choice. We shouldn't blame women who want to work after giving birth. Also, we should support when a man quits to take care of his children. Although by the end of the book, the story becomes a bit like feminism but to a rational level only. It was very relevant to current society and enlightening.

Loved this book! It is not just the author's personal opinion, but rather a review of research as well as anecdotal information from many sources. Easy to read and reflect on ideas presented. The reader will view the world a little differently specifically related to gender issues. Young women and even older women need to read this as it can be quite affirming - wish this book was around when I was starting my career. But just as importantly, men should also read this book. It is an eye opener.....organizations are still not reaching their full potential if senior management is not gender balanced - this book talks about ways to maximize the talent pool, by encouraging women to "lean in" and overcome obstacles that prevent them from "sitting at the table". What organization would not want to do that?