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A Women's Roundtable On 'Leaning In'

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Our in-studio roundtable guests, from left: Cathy Minehan, Betsy Myers and Nancy Gertner (Jesse Costa/WBUR)
Our in-studio roundtable guests, from left: Cathy Minehan, Betsy Myers and Nancy Gertner (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

To women across the world who wish to serve in leadership positions and achieve their full potential, Facebook's chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, says "lean in."

Sheryl Sandberg at the 2012 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting (World Economic Forum/Flickr)
Sheryl Sandberg at the 2012 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting (World Economic Forum/Flickr)

It's the title of her new book, "Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead," and a call to action for women to make choices that focus on what they can achieve, to take risks and to embrace success in their professional lives.

We hear from a roundtable of influential women on how applicable Sandberg's thesis is to their own success.

Guests

Betsy Myers, Founding Director of Bentley's Center for Women and Business.

Cathy Minehan, former President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and current Dean of the School of Management at Simmons College.

Nancy Gertner, former federal judge in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts and current Harvard Law School professor.

Katie Rae, Managing Director of TechStars in Boston and founder of start-up institute Project 11.

On WBUR

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NPR, "Sandberg's book has generated a spectrum of responses — some positive, some mixed and some outright hostile. Most common is the complaint that Sandberg seems to put the burden on women to change, rather than challenging the institutional, cultural and psychological factors that present extra challenges for women."

NPR, "'Boys, [Sandberg] says, are socialized to be assertive and aggressive and take leadership. Girls? 'We call our little girls bossy.'"

The New York Times, "Even her advisers acknowledge the awkwardness of a woman with double Harvard degrees, dual stock riches (from Facebook and Google, where she also worked), a 9,000-square-foot house and a small army of household help urging less fortunate women to look inward and work harder. Will more earthbound women, struggling with cash flow and child care, embrace the advice of a Silicon Valley executive whose book acknowledgments include thanks to her wealth adviser andOprah Winfrey?"

60 Minutes, "It's not just men who hold women back, women do it to themselves. They play it too safe at work, worry too much about being liked and turn down opportunities in anticipation of having a family one day."

This segment aired on April 4, 2013.

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