Today I had the experience of attending a luncheon hosted by The
Commonwealth Institute (TCI), featuring the eloquent,
intelligent, and incredibly motivational Sheryl Sandberg, the Chief Operating Officer of Facebook.
After blazing through her captivating new book Lean In
in just a matter of hours last week, I
could hardly wait for the opportunity to hear her speak in person
and perhaps offer a taste of the secret recipe that has helped her
become the respected business-woman she is today.
Just as I was hoping and fully expected, Sandberg's talk closely
mirrored the ideas in her book, and I walked away feeling stronger
and even prouder to be a woman than when I walked through the
elegant conference hall doors just a few hours earlier. As a
young woman just entering the workforce myself, Sandberg's message,
illustrated both in Lean In and by her discussion at
the TCI luncheon, strikes a particularly strong
chord. For me, today's event was the perfect opportunity to
see first-hand how hundreds of women in the Boston area are
breaking gender stereotypes in the work place and embracing their
gender as an asset rather than shying away from it, taking their
hard-earned "seats the table," as Sandberg puts it.
Sandberg's central argument is there needs to be some serious
gender reform in the United States, particularly in the workforce,
and she calls on both men and women to jumpstart the
conversation. She especially encourages women to take control
of breaking down gender stereotypes in the workplace by leaping
into their careers with heads held high and beaming senses of
self-confidence. After all, according to Sandberg, "One of
the best ways to break down an institution is to run it." At
the luncheon, she explained that a heated national conversation
about gender is a great place to start the reform - it's time to
talk openly about barriers to women's success openly, and then take
these barriers and work together as a society to tear them
down.
My first few months as a working woman fully "leaning in" to my
job have been exciting and fast-paced, and I fully intend to take
Sandberg's words to heart when she stresses the importance of young
women entering their blossoming careers with no anticipated
roadblocks already in mind. Instead, as women, we must enter
the work place with the expectation that we can, and will, be just
as successful as our male colleagues, and that it is completely
possible to have both a fulfilling personal life and full-time
career.
I will remember Sandberg's main tokens of advice, which I
believe are: run confidently into challenges rather than meagerly
tip-toe away, take the time to connect and build meaningful
relationships with the people around you, and perhaps most
important, do not under any circumstance underestimate your own
worth and capabilities. So, as I continue to lean forward
into my own career, my professional goal is to someday achieve an
influential and respected voice in the working world; my personal
goal, however, is to earn this status in a society that no longer
punishes successful women with harsh judgments and instead
celebrates them for their success, intelligence, and invaluable
contributions to their workplaces, homes, and communities.
By Molly Chase, Account Coordinator at Solomon McCown &
Company