Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In is
a massive cultural phenomenon and its title has become an instant
catchphrase for empowering women. The book soared to the top of
bestseller lists internationally, igniting global conversations about
women and ambition. Sandberg packed theatres, dominated opinion pages,
appeared on every major television show and on the cover of Time magazine,
and sparked ferocious debate about women and leadership. Ask most women
whether they have the right to equality at work and the answer will be a
resounding yes, but ask the same women whether they'd feel confident
asking for a raise, a promotion, or equal pay, and some reticence creeps
in. The statistics, although an improvement on previous decades, are
certainly not in women's favour – of 197 heads of state, only twenty-two
are women. Women hold just 20 percent of seats in parliaments globally,
and in the world of big business, a meagre eighteen of the Fortune 500
CEOs are women. In Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg – Facebook COO and one of Fortune magazine's
Most Powerful Women in Business – draws on her own experience of
working in some of the world's most successful businesses and looks at
what women can do to help themselves, and make the small changes in
their life that can effect change on a more universal scale.