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A review by alleerose
Lean in: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg
3.0
First of all, this was a quick read - got through it in a weekend, read it on my laptop just by googling 'lean in pdf'. So if you're bored and just need something to read, there you go.
Halfway through the book, I stopped to take a break and came upon a critique of the book by bell hooks (http://thefeministwire.com/2013/10/17973/). I was glad to have that in mind so I didn't take the book too seriously, but I feel like bell hooks taking on Sheryl Sandberg isn't really a fair fight (to be clear, it's unfair to Sandberg). Of course the book doesn't address intersectionality; of course it's for wealthy (usually white) women; of course it doesn't speak to the experiences of poor women of color. It's a book by the author for the author's proteges. It would be disingenuous and ignorant if she presumed to write a book that was for all women, even if it was possible for such a book to exist. That being said, she made passing glances at being inclusive, with the occasional caveat like "Of course my family is extremely fortunate [read: rich as fuck] so we can afford outside help" blah blah blah, and then go on to say how her advice is still applicable to everyone, but those are passing glances that she doesn't dwell on - and I think that's fine, because of the aforementioned possibility of being disingenuous and ignorant.
I'm fine with the book if we can just treat it as what it is - a call to arms for women in the office rat race who are navigating the lands of work and family and who have serious designs for their career. It wasn't mind-blowing, but I did find parts of it interesting or intriguing and I'll continue to ruminate on them; for instance, going full steam ahead right up until you start a family, rather than bowing out months or years ahead of time because of what you anticipate happening in the future. Or evaluating you partner based on how up they are for a genuine 50/50 split of household duties and childrearing. Or being more assertive and less apologetic at work. I think those are good, helpful, and useful pieces of advice.
That being said, the other major critique I've heard about the book is that while it correctly identifies the problem (lack of female leaders), it veers into victim-blaming territory and puts the onus on women to make the change inside themselves, instead of calling on corporate culture to change in any significant way. She treats this argument with the same passing glances that she took at inclusivity. Here and there she will say something like "of course workplace culture needs to change significantly, but..." and then goes on to the myriad ways women hold themselves back. I'm sympathetic to that critique and I don't think it's entirely unfounded, but I dunno, maybe let's not be so reactionary and be more realistic and realize that sometimes women do these things, and if they can stop, then you're already halfway there.
So - in summation - the book's not perfect but it is what it is, it's fine for what it is, and it's got some potential and things worth considering. It's a fast read, so why not? I probably wouldn't recommend it if it took me months to read because the material wasn't THAT awesome, but it probably took about 4 hours, so go for it.
Halfway through the book, I stopped to take a break and came upon a critique of the book by bell hooks (http://thefeministwire.com/2013/10/17973/). I was glad to have that in mind so I didn't take the book too seriously, but I feel like bell hooks taking on Sheryl Sandberg isn't really a fair fight (to be clear, it's unfair to Sandberg). Of course the book doesn't address intersectionality; of course it's for wealthy (usually white) women; of course it doesn't speak to the experiences of poor women of color. It's a book by the author for the author's proteges. It would be disingenuous and ignorant if she presumed to write a book that was for all women, even if it was possible for such a book to exist. That being said, she made passing glances at being inclusive, with the occasional caveat like "Of course my family is extremely fortunate [read: rich as fuck] so we can afford outside help" blah blah blah, and then go on to say how her advice is still applicable to everyone, but those are passing glances that she doesn't dwell on - and I think that's fine, because of the aforementioned possibility of being disingenuous and ignorant.
I'm fine with the book if we can just treat it as what it is - a call to arms for women in the office rat race who are navigating the lands of work and family and who have serious designs for their career. It wasn't mind-blowing, but I did find parts of it interesting or intriguing and I'll continue to ruminate on them; for instance, going full steam ahead right up until you start a family, rather than bowing out months or years ahead of time because of what you anticipate happening in the future. Or evaluating you partner based on how up they are for a genuine 50/50 split of household duties and childrearing. Or being more assertive and less apologetic at work. I think those are good, helpful, and useful pieces of advice.
That being said, the other major critique I've heard about the book is that while it correctly identifies the problem (lack of female leaders), it veers into victim-blaming territory and puts the onus on women to make the change inside themselves, instead of calling on corporate culture to change in any significant way. She treats this argument with the same passing glances that she took at inclusivity. Here and there she will say something like "of course workplace culture needs to change significantly, but..." and then goes on to the myriad ways women hold themselves back. I'm sympathetic to that critique and I don't think it's entirely unfounded, but I dunno, maybe let's not be so reactionary and be more realistic and realize that sometimes women do these things, and if they can stop, then you're already halfway there.
So - in summation - the book's not perfect but it is what it is, it's fine for what it is, and it's got some potential and things worth considering. It's a fast read, so why not? I probably wouldn't recommend it if it took me months to read because the material wasn't THAT awesome, but it probably took about 4 hours, so go for it.