Leisure

Under the Covers: Sandberg leans in, falls short

April 4, 2013


“The blunt truth is that men still run the world.” Sheryl Sandberg, author of Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead asserts that gender inequality in the workplace is rampant. Sandberg’s book calls on you, women and men of Georgetown, to lean in—“be ambitious in any pursuit”—to combat this phenomenon.

Lean In is not a great piece of literature, by any means. It’s not really a feminist manifesto, either. With its political vernacular and clichéd prose, Lean In sounds like a motivational speech, and is in fact very similar to the 2010 TED talk Sandberg gave and references throughout the book (“Why We Have Too Few Women Leaders”).

Nevertheless, it is a timely redux of a pertinent and threatening issue. We at Georgetown may not expect sexism at the distinguished firms and revolutionary NGOs we will be lucky to work for. As Sandberg says, didn’t our mothers and grandmothers fight that battle for us?

Her answer is a resounding no. The most potent parts of Lean In come in the form of two case studies, proving our relaxed assumptions to be erroneous.

First, Columbia Business School Prof. Frank Flynn and New York University Prof. Cameron Anderson polled MBA students on their impressions of a successful venture capitalist, giving half the class a résumé by a man (Howard), and half the same résumé by a woman (Heidi). Though the accomplishments and presentation were completely identical, student opinion was not. Howard was considered an impressive model while Heidi was “selfish” and “not the type of person you would want to hire or work for.” Successful women are less liked by both genders.

And for us students, Sandberg presents an example closer to home: “A 2012 study found that when evaluating identical résumés for a lab manager position from a male student and a female student, scientists of both sexes gave better marks to the male applicant. Even though the students had the same qualifications and experience, the scientists deemed the female student less competent and offered her a lower starting salary.”

Stereotypes abound! Sandberg shows that even educated and open-minded people continue the cycle of sexism. However, she offers little actual advice on how to change the system (she gives tips on how to wrangle a mentor and rather bland negotiating techniques). Lean In is not a how-to manual, but a call to action.

Lean In is one of the most talked-about books of the year—it has gotten innumerable comments, reviews, blog posts, and tweets; supportive, annoyed, dismissive, angry, and inspired. Ann Marie Slaughter’s 2012 article in The Atlantic, “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All,” was almost as incendiary. The conversation about women and work thrives here at Georgetown as well, through many woman-focused events, empowerment clubs, and networking associations.

Sandberg’s book is a sound bite in a much grander dialogue playing out in all those venues. In fact, you don’t even need to read the whole thing, or much of it at all, to get the benefit. Sandberg hoped to spark conversation and consciousness in young and soon-to-be professionals like us. She succeeded due to her prominent position. I just hope that something finally comes out of this interminable discussion.

How many generally appealing calls to action does it take? Sandberg’s message is more optimistic than Slaughter’s—hers is more, “Why Women Kind Of Can Have It All But Look! There Are Still Some Obstacles” vs. Slaughter’s “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All.” But it is absolutely in the same vein, even though the authors differ. Both use anecdotes, scholarly research, and a motivational tone with a neatly packaged presentation.

Still, I was left wanting more. Sandberg is practical in her small-scale suggestions and grandiose in her large-scale hopes, but I see little connection between the two. Even Slaughter’s more intense and pragmatic piece offers little linkage between her articulation of the problem and her hopes for the future—she mentions urging women in her classes to speak up more frequently, but that’s about it.

I think that you and I, women and men of Georgetown hoping for a future in which gender equality is a reality, should be specific. Let’s do our best to speak up and act, to be the next Sheryl Sandberg, regardless of what field we enter. Her best advice is to be taken from her action. When books on women in the workplace become redundant, success has arrived. Until then, we have no excuse to be passive, or we will continue to face the ire of a flawed, stereotyping, sexist system. Reading Sandberg’s book isn’t revolutionary, but “leaning in” is. And at a school that prides itself on equality, on having the first female Secretary of State as a professor, I think we can be assured that as we face some battles, we are in good company.



Read More


Subscribe
Notify of
guest

1 Comment
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments