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1-Page Summary of Lean In

Overall Summary

Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead (2013) is a nonfiction book written by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg. She argues that women can only achieve equality in the workforce when they demand it for themselves. Therefore, she urges women to take control of their careers and fight against gender inequality in order to reach full equality with men.

In this passage, Sandberg establishes the importance of her argument by talking about women’s status in society. She uses statistics to prove that although there has been progress for women, they still have a long way to go before achieving equality with men. Sandberg also discusses how people absorb sexist attitudes from the culture around them and internalize these ideas as their own. Finally, she argues that in order to advance further toward gender equality, we need to let go of biased beliefs and open our minds so we can truly embrace change.

In the first two chapters, Sandberg presents her argument about why women are less successful than men. She believes that it is because of their internal barriers that make them hesitant to pursue positions of power and self doubt which makes them feel like they’re not good enough. These issues have been brought up by society rather than reality; in other words, women aren’t any less ambitious or capable as men but they’ve grown up in a world that emphasizes being pretty and agreeable over intelligent and successful.

In the third chapter, Sandberg acknowledges that women need to be more assertive in order to achieve success. However, being too assertive can have negative consequences for a woman’s career. Therefore, it is important for both men and women to strike a balance between being assertive and not too aggressive or demanding. It is also important for women to be open about their thoughts and feelings with others in order to get ahead at work without having issues related with gender bias. Having mentors will help as well but they shouldn’t become overly dependent on them either because they should learn how to manage things by themselves first before asking for help from others.

In the following chapters, Sandberg discusses how women can balance work and family life. She suggests that many of the problems women face are due to the fact that they’re less likely than men to seek professional help or advice when dealing with stressful situations. They also tend to internalize biases about whether it’s possible for someone to be successful in both their personal and professional lives. Women hear from society that this is impossible, so they give up on their goals because they don’t think it’s worth trying anymore. However, since women still bear most of the burden of housework and childcare, Sandberg recommends that women ask for support from their partners as well as be willing to compromise with them if things get too overwhelming at home or work.

Sandberg urges women to speak up about gender inequality and support the choices of other women. When women get more powerful, they will put in place new policies that are friendly toward all genders. That way, feminism can be over once and for all.

Introduction: “Internalizing the Revolution”

Sandberg starts off with a story about how she was pregnant while working at Google. She had to walk across the parking lot because it was hard for her to walk around due to pregnancy complications. Her husband told her that there were designated spots for pregnant women, but when Sandberg asked if Google had them, they didn’t have any and Sandberg fought hard to get some spots designated for pregnant women. This benefited other expectant mothers who worked at Google as well.