Lean In By Sandberg Summary

She compares the few tasks that civilized women are able to perform with the wide variety of tasks that men routinely perform in order to illustrate how little autonomy the modern woman has. For instance, while a male soldier can “march and counter-march” and manipulate the senate to work for them, women do not have any of these opportunities. Men have so much more power; they govern everything that goes on outside the house, and have a lot more freedom in what they do. Even in a relationship, the man is “responsible” and the women is reduced to a “cypher,” she claims. Furthermore, it is extremely difficult for a woman to get a job that pays enough so she can be financially independent of her husband;

"In 1950 about one in three women participated in the labor force. By 1998, nearly three of every five women of working age were in the labor force" (Heatherfield, n.d., para. 4). In 2008, the U.S. Department of labor estimates that women will make up 48% of the workforce (Heatherfield, n.d., para. 6). As the number of women in the workforce rises so do the numbers of women who hold higher titles such as Chairman, CEO, Vice Chairman, President, Chief Operating Officer, Senior Vice President, and Executive Vice President. This number has increased from 7.3% in 2000 to 9.9% in 2002 (Diversity statistics, 2006).

“Look at us! We’re just like everyone else. We’ve bought into the same ridiculous delusion; this idea that you have to settle down and resign from life.” (April Wheeler, Revolutionary Road). It has become a society norm that women are meant to serve housewives; to cook, clean, garden, and nurture children, even though they are much more capable of other things. The role of women is greatly overseen, as they are not perceived to be of their full potential, rather than as societies idealistic expectation. This is because men and those who are wealthy are unable to look past gender and accept women as of equal significance.

Women may find themselves in some accommodation requirement circumstances at work, due to the ability to be both pregnant and employed. This does not mean that they do not have the ability to work. In fact, because of their medical requirements related with their pregnancy, they would need to have some work accommodation made by their employer to make it easier and possible. As result, women have been struggling for years, when it comes too social and workplace equality.

In this book she has helped the reader understand how women help in shifting and creating the world that we know today.

In the 21st Century the number of women enrolling in higher education institutions is surpassing the numbers of men enrolled. The graduation rates of women from high school and higher education are most often higher than for men. The number of women graduates from most professional occupations, including higher paying medicine, law and business, will exceed the number of men graduates in the near future. In numerous occupational areas with a majority of women graduates, salaries already surpass salaries in occupational areas with a majority of men graduates.

In author’s speech she mentions; “Nobody ever helps me into carriages, or over mud puddles, or gives me any best place! And ain’t I a woman?” she compares herself with a woman who received help from a man. This brings up together relevant information about woman having the capabilities to be as equal as men, to be as hardworking and skillful as man. As a matter of fact; nowadays; there is woman discrimination nowadays such as unfairness in equal pay in job opportunities. Most women tend to earn less money than man and have less opportunities than men. For the fact that women are not as strong and intellectual as man therefore women will not be employed for the lack of efficiency than men.

With wage discrimination between men and women, occupational segregation, higher poverty rates among females, and the lack of women in the decision-making body, Canadian women continue to fall behind men economically, socially, and politically. According to Linda Trimble and Pamela Marie Paxton, the lack of female political representation has been the principal reason for ongoing gender inequality. The underrepresentation of women in decision-making positions results in the neglect of women’s issues in public policies and programs; thus, the lack of critical numbers of women representatives not only impedes women from important negotiations in areas of finance or labour, but it also allows for the unequal status quo to continue/exist between genders.

Reserve the few important portfolios for the women-------- female ministers are typically given ‘feminine’ portfolios, such as education, health, social welfare or environment. Moreover, governments do not consider gender equality as a priority, gender equality issues are missing from the budgeting process, and women are not present in the financial, peace, and international negotiations, structures and delegations. The participation of a proportion of women in government in all levels should be established as one of the rules of democracy. All governments should thus include a proportion of women. Men and women alike are fitted to hold government

The main argument posed by Lisa Belkin in “The Opt-Out Revolution” revolves around the multi-faceted issue of women’s involvement and presence in the paid work sector. Belkin argues that the issue of the unequal representation of women in full-time, full-year careers is a culmination of the impact of the maternal wall, the nature of the “stalled revolution”, and personal life “decisions” made by women. Throughout her work, Belkin addresses the tangible reality of the maternal wall and it’s impact on women’s ability to climb the corporate ladder, as well as the obstacles it creates for women seeking to re-enter the workforce post-childbirth. Belkin elaborates on the “stalled revolution” that women and feminists alike are facing

While it is difficult to start a cultural revolution, small steps can be taken to encourage gender parity. A large influence on how women fare in politics is the type of elections that countries employ (Adams, 2011). Women are more likely to be represented in national parliaments under “party list/multi-member district electoral systems” because party leaders have the ability to establish more female representation, as they decide who gets placed on the lists (Lecture 11, Slide 9) (Adams, 2011, pg 61). Countries can also establish gender quotas which require a certain number of females as candidates in political parties (Lecture 11, Slide 9). However, countries like the United States have little desire to modify the long-standing single-member district electoral system or to enact gender equality laws which may be viewed as reverse gender discrimination (Lecture 11, Slide 9). Scandinavian countries have significant

The generation now has made it easier to equalize men and women but there is still a substantial amount of places where gender inequality is still happening in the workplace and where females still face discrimination. Women are often discriminated in the workplace and are usually not promoted as quickly as men are and they also receive less pay. History shows that women have not always been defined as property and thought of as second class citizens. But in the 21st century many have seen a drastic change in the so called “traditional” family ways where women are suppose to stay home and take care of the household chores, food, and children and men are suppose to work to support their family and provide financial stability. Many assume that in the workplace women are more vulnerable and less competent than men because women 's instincts are to put their family before work or anything else. Whereas men are the ones who will usually stay the late hours to work. People on both sides of the political spectrum and everywhere in between seem to be fearful of what is to come and more fearful of others than they are often willing to admit.

People are judged by their gender, which often, in many situations, lead to bias decisions and unfairness within business organizations for women. Women are often not held up to the standard of a man in the business workforce, which leaves them with fewer position choices outside the norm. Most jobs that women have are not demanding upon the body and require little to no strength. The failure to understand adaptation by the government has caused many reforms in the past, but there are still many flaws in the hiring system that often leave women asking questions and puzzled by the bias decisions of men in charge of the management of positions. The fight for equality amongst women has been going on for many years.

Even though numbers are slowly rising in the United States, there are still more men in executive positions than women. According to one survey, female workers only made up 43% of legislators, senior managers, and senior officials whereas male workers made up 57%. In congress, congresswomen make up only 17% of representation compared to congressmen making up 83% (Ferrante, 2011, p. 312). Gender stratification is one explanation for the tremendous gap. Ferrante (2011) describes gender stratification as the unequal distribution of opportunities and resources amongst male and female employees. (p. 311) For example, male workers have an increased opportunity to receive a promotion than a female worker. According to Tinsley (2013), women are more likely to receive executive positions when a company is doing well, rather than when a company is suffering. Some companies stereotype that women workers will leave the workforce soon to bear children, limiting their chances of achieving executive status (Ferrante, 2011, p. 316).

Throughout history, women have been seen in many different lights. From a woman’s perspective she is strong, smart, helpful and equal to men. In the eyes of men, she is seen as the weaker being, the housewife, and the caretaker. By looking at the following pieces of writing, one can see that through the centuries, women have struggled to break out of the mold that man had put her in and make themselves known in society as important.