Leaning-in to Women and Work: A Case Study of Media Communication about Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean-In

• In Event: 256 - Section on Organizations, Occupations and Work Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 03. Gender and Work I

Abstract

Women remain underrepresented in the highest echelons of American corporate leadership, holding roughly 15% of top corporate positions. The reasons for this disparity are heavily debated among social scientists, policy makers, and the lay public alike. In March 2013, Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook, released her soon to be bestseller on working women: Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. Following directly in the wake of other popularized statements, Lean In received expansive attention in the press and sparked national discussions about the barriers and challenges working women face. In this paper we examine the contemporary debate about women and work that arises in press coverage and commentary related to Lean-In, focusing on three mainstream news sources - the New York Times, Huffington Post, and Wall Street Journal. Our analysis suggests that the book offers an opportunity for the public to rehearse abiding cultural understandings of women’s underrepresentation in the workplace, and to dichotomize the relationship between internal/individual and external/structural influences on sex disparities in leadership positions. We also find significant differences in each source’s coverage of Lean In that underscore these divides. Lastly, our study reveals the emergence of a simplified understanding of the phrase “Lean In” over time. Later and more widespread use of the term sheds the nuance of Sandberg’s arguments, centering instead on just one dimension – the personal decisions and choices women make – as the primary tenant of her argument.

Authors

• Darci Kovacs, Reed College

• Kjersten Bunker Whittington, Reed College

• Chiara Clio Packard, Reed College

• Marina Moro, Reed College