Let me start by saying that my interest in women in business is not a new thing- so I expected to enjoy this book. I was an avid member of the Villanova Women in Business Society in school, have interests in global girls’ rights, and actively write for the Levo League.
What I didn’t realize is how much I would learn from this book. There are countless studies (the last like 50 pages of the book are actually footnotes) that really showcase the issues women face at work and actual studies to prove them.
The most shocking story for me was a study done by a Columbia Business School professor Frank Flynn and New York University Professor Cameron Anderson ran an experiment to test perceptions of women and men in the workplace. They started with a Harvard Business School Case Study about an actual woman named Heidi Roizen. Heidi had become a very successful venture capitalist by using her outgoing personality and building a professional network with very influential people.
Flynn and Anderson gave half of their students this case study on Heidi, and the other half of the students got the same verbatim story, except Heidi’s name was changed to Howard.
They then polled the students about their impressions of Heidi and Howard. While the students rated both Heidi and Howard as equally competent and as having similar accomplishments, Howard was someone they would like working with or for. Heidi was said to be selfish and not the type of person you would want to hire or work for.
Let me repeat- the story was the same EXACT thing except the name of the person, showing strong evidence for the idea that success and likeability are positively correlated for men and inversely correlated for women.
This sucks for women. Because gosh darn it do we want to be well-liked, and feel feminine, but we still want to succeed. One of my best friends was recently described as “cold” in the workplace- just because she acts like any guy would within her role.
I also find this the most staggering because I probably would have said Heidi would have been scary to work for, too. Even though I’m a huge proponent for women in the workplace- I probably wouldn’t have felt great about working for Heidi either.
This book to me is a great read because it brings these issues to the forefront so that they can at least be top of mind. There are many stories in this book that you just wouldn’t think of as a man or woman in the workforce and Sandberg gives constructive ways to move forward past discrimination.
I also really enjoyed her personal stories. Seeing as I’m part of the online marketing world- her telling stories about working for Google and Facebook were little snippets of a life I would love to have.
I recommend this book to anyone and everyone so that we can all lead a more informed discussion about women in the workplace and at home.
Have you read it? What was your favorite part?
Thanks for the rec! That case study is shocking. I think two things about women in business are unfortunate: 1) That some women feel they have to be aggressive or cut-throat to be taken seriously or succeed in business, and 2) that women who are naturally more aggressive in business are said to be cold or bitchy — a judgement on their character or personality. I think the key is diversity of management styles and business tactics in business. I like to see women use their inherent character traits to their advantage, whether more cunning or diplomatic. I’m adding this to my Good Reads list now.
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