A world where people of every gender can pursue their dreams without bias or other barriers holding them back.

By Pepper Parr

November 19^th, 2024

BURLINGTON, ON

This is for the women in our readership.

What do you know about Lean In?

The phrase came from Sheryl Sandberg’s book  Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead

Sandberg wanted a “world where people of every gender can pursue their dreams without bias or other barriers holding them back. Where girls grow up to be confident, resilient leaders. Where more women run companies and countries. We are driven by the belief our society and economy would be better if women and girls were valued as equal to men and boys.”

Sandberg has made a difference.

In 2008, she was made COO at Facebook, becoming the company’s second-highest-ranking official. In June 2012, she was elected to Facebook’s board of directors, becoming the first woman to serve on its board. As head of the company’s advertising business, Sandberg was credited for making the company profitable. Prior to joining Facebook as its COO, Sandberg was vice president of global online sales and operations at Google and was involved in its philanthropic arm Google.org.

Before that, Sandberg served as research assistant to Lawrence Summers at the World Bank, and subsequently as his chief of staff when he was Bill Clinton’s United States Secretary of the Treasury.

In 2012, she was named in the Time 100, an annual list of the most influential people in the world. On Forbes Magazine’s 2021 billionaires list, Sandberg is reported to have a net worth of US$1.7 billion, due to her stock holdings in Facebook and in other companies. In 2022, she announced she would be stepping down as Meta COO in the fall but that she would remain on its board. In January 2024, she announced that she would not stand for re-election on the board in May 2024.

The phrase “Lean In” led to a movement that has created a leadership curriculum designed specifically for women with the power of peers coming together to learn new skills and support each other. Part leadership workshop, part support network.

Whether you’re actively participating in a Lean In Circle, used to participate, or you’re not yet a part of the Circles community – we would really appreciate 7-10 minutes of your time before November 25th to share your insights in our Lean In Community Survey.  Link to the survey is HERE

They will be grateful for your feedback and you might find some of the direction you are seeking in a world that is still male-dominated – look south to see just how bad it is.