Running head: LEAN IN

Lean In Reaction

Juan Espinoza

University of St. Thomas

Dr. Leiker

EDUC 6331

Spring 2019
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A Reflection on Lean In

This book overall is well written with some very interesting ideas.

The life experiences that the author Sheryl Sandberg shares are very

universal in my opinion. For example, her grandmother lived in an era

where traditional gender roles were more prominent. Boys and men were

seen as more capable of helping the family survive and thrive. It is

important to note that many jobs before the 1960’s required human

muscle power. Men naturally are usually bigger and stronger than

women. This allowed men to work in these physically demanding jobs.

It is important to note that a few women also worked in physically

demanding jobs. I believe that is why most cultures during the early

twentieth-century and before had that familiar gender role tradition.

Another example is that most parents will not send their daughters to

mines, warfare or building skyscrapers.

This trend continued up till the mid 1960’s where this traditional

gender role was uplifted by the women’s movement and other

movements of the 1960s in America and other western nations. In

addition, more and more jobs were becoming less physically demanding
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and more mechanized or computable. This allowed women to enter the

workforce in larger numbers. In my opinion that is good because it

allows women to work if they desire to. Additionally, more education

was necessary for these white-collar jobs and women adjusted.

According to Sandberg,

“There’s no doubt that women have the skills to lead in the

workplace. Girls are increasingly outperforming boys in the classroom,

earning about 57 percent of the undergraduate and 60 percent of the

master’s degrees in the United States.3 This gender gap in academic

achievement has even caused some to worry about the “end of men.”

(Sandberg, 2013).

I agree with Sandberg that equality should be addressed. All

Americans need equal opportunities as much as possible. I believe that

America is a nation that allows for everyone to have an opportunity to

succeed. With hard work, persistence and intelligence Americans can

create those opportunities for themselves. Afterall that is what the

“Founding Fathers” made into reality. The twenty-first century I believe

is an era that Americans have the tools to succeed. For example, today’s
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public schools in my opinion have hard working dedicated educators

which strive to help their students be successful. If families and

communities and their public schools work together then the future

belongs to their children.

Individual couples will learn good ideas from her book. For

example, setting a time line for goals that will help not just women but

also men. Mrs. Sandberg also gave the example of eighteen months to

get goals done. She gave the example on how her husband set a goal to

eventually work in the same city where she worked. Finally, I believe

that Mrs. Sandberg has good advice, but people will eventually discover

what works for them in order to be successful.

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References

Sandberg, S. (2013). LEAN IN Women, work, and the Will To LEAD. New York