"We hold ourselves back in ways both big and small, by lacking self-confidence, by not raising our hands, and by pulling back when we should be leaning in" -Sheryl Sandberg
This is a quote from a book I'm reading right now, called Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg. My iQuest mentor, Mrs. Cranford, recommended this wonderful self-help/history of business/autobiography/feminist movement book to me. The goal of the book is to raise awareness of the inequalities between men and women in the workplace, reasons why they exist, and what we can do to combat it. Sandberg is an extremely succesful business woman and a wonderful mother. She wrote this book for many reasons, one of the most powerful being her advice on how to balance a career and a family. I have been extremely impressed with what she has to say on this topic, and find all her advice quite relative to the goals I have for my future. Sandberg discusses how woman slow themselves down in anticipation of having families. This tendency women have to construct their own limits toward success is a scary subconscious enigma; one that I look forward to preventing in my own life now that I am aware of it. Sandberg also discusses heavily the internalization that women suffer and the power to change that. She shares a story about a woman named Heidi Roizen, a very successful venture capitalist. As a case study, her story was given to students at Harvard's business school. Although everyone was given the exact same story, half the students in the experiment were given storys that replaced the name "Heidi" with "Howard." The students that read Heidi's story saw her as bossy, selfish, and "not the type of person you would want to hire or work for." The reviews on Howard, however, were the opposite. He was not "bossy," he was the boss. He was not "selfish," he was a good leader who was very aware of end results. Howard was also deemed as someone you would want to work for and hire. The results of this case study are so incredibly ironic considering "Howard" and Heidi are the same exact person. Sandberg points out that this experiment supports what research has already proven time and time again-success and likability are positively correlated in men consistently just as they are negatively correlated in women. Women of power intimidate many- men and women alike. Sandberg emphasizes how important it is that we change these standards. I am about 45% through this book, and I have already learned so much. Sandberg has inspired me to watch TedTalks, enjoy several documentaries, and do subsequent research on many of the topics she addresses. I look forward to finishing this very eye-opening book before Thanksgiving. Without have even finished the book, I can confidently give Lean In a 5 star review!
