Reading Response to Kate Losse

When I first heard the title of the article “Who Wins from Leaning In?,” I thought the term “leaning in” referred to something else entirely. I thought it referred to women “leaning in[to]” male superiors to advance their position or get their way, but I’m glad I was wrong. Sheryl Sandberg’s book Lean In suggests that the problems women face in the workplace and career advancement aren’t caused by institutionalized discrimination, but “women’s reluctance to accept accelerating career demands,” and encourages women to work faster and more to get ahead (Losse). This, to me, sounds like an oversimplified and traditionally male response to women’s woes about peering through and hitting the glass ceiling. Working harder and more might help someone advance professionally, but I imagine people like to do more than work. Sandberg’s advice is appropriate for those of all genders, women, men, and everyone in between who are very ambitious and want to get ahead, but it’s not an appropriate solution to the discrimination against women in the workplace. Losse experienced discrimination in the very company for which Sandberg works and whose experiences she rights about in her book; she was promoted to a more demanding position but wasn’t given a raise because it “wouldn’t be fair to the other engineers who haven’t had a raise” (Losse). She “needed to work for less so men wouldn’t feel resentful,” which is a little ridiculous; I haven’t heard of men being that sympathetic or sensitive to women, who do the same jobs, are paid less, and might be a little resentful that they’re paid less for equal labor(Losse).