Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

May 06, 2014 Renata rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: grownup, nonfiction

I kind of wanted to hate this book tbh. Like going into it, I was like, "Oh sure, Sheryl Sandberg has tooons of great advice for the average woman, toootallly." But after I read it, I was like, "Oh sure, Sheryl Sandberg has tons of great advice for the average woman!" NON-SARCASTICALLY.

I also saw this getting slammed for her being out of touch with non-CEO women/minorities/etc, and I was expecting to roll my eyes a ton at this for that reason alone, but I was actually very impressed with how of I kind of wanted to hate this book tbh. Like going into it, I was like, "Oh sure, Sheryl Sandberg has tooons of great advice for the average woman, toootallly." But after I read it, I was like, "Oh sure, Sheryl Sandberg has tons of great advice for the average woman!" NON-SARCASTICALLY.

I also saw this getting slammed for her being out of touch with non-CEO women/minorities/etc, and I was expecting to roll my eyes a ton at this for that reason alone, but I was actually very impressed with how often she did point out that obviously women with less privilege are going to have a lot more obstacles against leaning in, and it should fall to men to "lean back" and to other women with more privilege to help pull up women. (Obviously there's more to say about those issues, and it's definitely not Sandberg's main point, but she's not as clueless as a lot of what I'd read about this wanted to make her seem.)

And I think a lot of what she has to say about gender roles in the workplace were just very refreshing to read, written out so clearly. Like, even though I am pretty well-educated and read feminist blogs and whatnot, I still had about 100 lightbulb moments reading this. It's very TED talk-y (I mean that in a good way). Her points really resonated with me, even though I'm obviously not a CEO of anything, nor do I ever want to be.

ALSO I think it's shitty that people are so dismissive of this like it's some inconsequential thing that there are so few women CEOs and we should be focusing on REAL issues like girls being kidnapped in Nigeria, for example. Like, yes, of course, there are other important issues in the world. But nobody's saying shit like that about like, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, or whatever. Until we overthrow capitalism, I think big companies like Google and Facebook are probably going to stick around for awhile, and it certainly does matter how many women work there and how comfortable they feel in their chosen industry.

I honestly really recommend this to both men and women, no matter what kind of job you have or want. ...more

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May 23, 2014 Lori rated it really liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, audio

I wasn't sure what to think about this one. There were some things I agree with, some things that were hard to hear, and some things I think could have been discussed more. However, the points she makes are definitely good ones and I'd love to have more discussion on these topics which are so typically taboo. (And I'm a sucker for some fun research...perhaps I should have been a sociologist!) ...more

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Apr 01, 2013 Ann rated it liked it

Shelves: 2013

Pretty Interesting. I'm now more conscious of the way women are treated in the workplace. I'm not sure if this is a good thing or not. ...more

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Mar 21, 2014 Sarah rated it liked it

Hard to believe a book this short has caused a such a ruckus. #sundayquickreads

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May 31, 2013 Heidi rated it really liked it

Shelves: improvement, current-events, nonfiction, women

Surprisingly good - also surprisingly short! I got the Kindle version and was done around 65% because the rest was Thanks, etc.

She makes some good points, and it is frequently discussed. There are a lot of little stories in there, but the overall idea was fairly strong. Women in positions of power expands the role to make it easier for more women to get higher position in the future. It made me more aware and was worth it for that, but I also think it's worth it for women who are not in managem ...more

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Apr 11, 2013 Julianne Dunn rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2014-friends-recommendations

I can not recommend this book enough to both women and men. Sandberg identifies issues that arise for women in the workplace, both externally and internally. Many times during the book, I thought she could have been speaking directly about me. Read this.

First read: 5/22/13

I can read this again and again. I even give it for presents to my students.

Recommended by Valencia Hike

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Mar 01, 2013 Carrie rated it really liked it

This was really 4.5 stars for me. Sandberg has gotten a lot of criticism, but I really liked what she had to say and thought she had good career advice.

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