Some, especially younger women, were immediate critics of Ms. Or, put another way, one corporate lawyer’s ability to hire several nannies so she can work late into the night on her way to partner wasn’t going to address the child care crunch for everyone else. The book told women to embrace their ambitions, and not to count themselves out because they feared that boardrooms weren’t built for mothers in particular, or for women at all.

The Lean In foundation supported the creation of thousands of Lean In circles where women, especially those at the start of their careers, turned to Ms. The book sold over four million copies in five years. Sandberg onto the covers of Time and Fortune, just 4 percent of the chief executives at Fortune 500 companies were women. When “Lean In” came out in 2013, landing on the best-seller list and propelling Ms. Sandberg’s departure, for all those readers, is a moment to reflect on how “Lean In” shaped their careers.

Many others have come to understand its limits, or to view it as a symbol of what is wrong with applying individual-focused solutions to the systemic issues holding back women in the workplace, especially women of color and low-income women. She had been in the job for five years when she published “Lean In,” and her singular role and success in Silicon Valley helped amplify the book’s message.įor many women “Lean In” has been a bible, a road map to corporate life. Sandberg announced that she was leaving her position as chief operating officer of Facebook’s parent company, Meta - the perch that made her one of the highest-profile women in American business. “No one has ever tapped me on the shoulder because I did more and was more prepared.” She has also soured on the Lean In philosophy that taught her that a little grit was all she needed for career success. Bailey said she had been denied raises, pumped milk in the smoking lounge of her office and cut back on her professional ambitions, recognizing the challenge of balancing her work with motherhood. “It struck this feminist chord in me - if you just push harder, if you just ask for more, someone will take notice.” Bailey, 46, who lives in Green Bay, Wis., referring to Ms. “It gave me this boost of courage,” said Ms. And the question of how Facebook might affect democracy was not front and center. The #MeToo movement hadn’t yet ballooned, spotlighting the abuses women can face in the workplace.

When Amy Bailey, a communications strategist, read “Lean In” by Sheryl Sandberg, the year was 2013.

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