Lean In

11 years ago when we launched #LeanInCircles, we set what we thought was an impossible goal: 1,000 Circles. We truly never thought we’d get there. Today, more than 100,000 women have started Circles in 183 countries. Women in Lean In Circles empower each other, in ways big and small. The stories from our community are a huge source of inspiration for us and so many others. We feel hopeful when we see Circle members work together to start new businesses, come together to change outdated policies, and join forces to lift up the next generations of leaders. By going after their own goals, they’re moving all of us closer to gender equality. Too often, the world tells women why they can’t do something. But time and time again, our members say their Circles are the ones who tell them they can. 85% of members attribute a positive life change to their Lean In Circle, and almost two-thirds have taken on a new challenge since joining.

A sponsor is someone with power and influence who advocates for you at work. They proactively champion your talents and encourage people to give you opportunities. Here are six tips for finding sponsors who’ll accelerate your career from our #WomenAtWorkCollection — a new leadership training program designed specifically for women by women: ? 1?? Know the traits of a sponsor 2?? Get in the habit of identifying sponsors 3?? Make your skills visible 4?? Offer help 5?? Make a specific request 6?? Follow up For a breakdown of each of these tips, watch our video and discussion guide under the topic, "How to find sponsors who’ll accelerate your career," here: https://bit.ly/4dm4Ctb

What does it take to propel your career forward? What should managers and employers do to better address inequities in the workplace? Find out next Wednesday, Sept. 18th, when our founder, #SherylSandberg, and LinkedIn Editor-in-Chief Daniel Roth host a LinkedIn Live. The pair will unpack key findings from our 10th #WomenInTheWorkplace report, a joint partnership with McKinsey & Company, and share actionable insights, including: ???? How to navigate gender bias and advocate for yourself at work. ???? Actionable strategies to approach career growth and compensation discussions with confidence. ???? The importance of using data to drive equitable career advancement for all employees. ???? Sheryl’s stance on how AI, career breaks, and more impact workers, especially working women. What questions do you have for Sheryl? Drop them in the comments for a chance to get it answered live.?

If you’ve ever caught yourself having a negative response to a woman who has a strong leadership style or who speaks in a direct, assertive manner, this is likeability bias at work. And being liked matters. Who are you more likely to support and promote: the man with high marks across the board or the woman who has equally high marks but is not as well-liked? To make things more complicated, women also pay a penalty for being agreeable and nice, which can make people think they’re less competent. This double bind makes the workplace challenging for women. They need to assert themselves to be seen as effective. But when they do assert themselves, they are often less liked. Men do not walk this same tightrope.

According to our #WomenInTheWorkplace2023 report, mothers are more than twice as likely as fathers to worry that their performance is being judged negatively due to their caregiving responsibilities.? ? Unfortunately, they may be right to worry. There’s long been a false perception that mothers can’t be truly invested in both family and work, and are therefore less committed to their jobs than fathers and women without children. ? ? This makes advancement especially difficult for Latinas who are significantly less likely than women of other races and ethnicities to report that their manager regularly shows interest in their career development.? ? Learn more about what Latinas are up against and how companies can support them by reading Lean In’s first-ever report on the #StateOfLatinas in corporate America at this link: https://bit.ly/4fhvnkk

If we had a dollar for every time we heard these statements said to a woman running for office, we’d close the #paygap for good. Humor aside, in this #election cycle, women candidates will encounter an unjust bias that is deeply ingrained. Their qualifications will be doubted, their appearance and speech will be criticized, and they will face negative reactions when asserting themselves. Women of color, like Vice President Harris, will face the additional challenges of #sexism and #racism. Learn how bias impacts women candidates and what you can do to challenge it head-on. ??

With our kids back at school now, they will likely encounter new challenges that may shake their confidence. Girls especially have it hard growing up in a culture that tells them boys and men are more important.? ? It’s our job as caregivers of girls to help them gain the strength to overcome the tough spots that lie ahead. Here are our recommendations for setting up your girl for success this #schoolyear. For more tips on how to empower girls: https://bit.ly/4eakHmk #BackToSchool #LeanInGirls

Three days after graduating from Yale in 2023, swimmer #AliTruwit lost her leg in a shark attack while on vacation. Just over a year later, she competed for the first time in the #Paralympics.? ? In this clip from the Kelly Clarkson Show, Truwit shares how 16x Paralympian champion #JessicaLong supported her as a fellow amputee and celebrated her wins. With the Paralympics ending today, we’re congratulating these two exceptional women along with all the other athletes who competed in the Paris 2024 games. ??

Women and girls are more likely to pay a price for speaking up. For women, this looks like receiving a poor evaluation, being excluded from meetings, or even being fired.? When girls speak up, because that doesn’t fit with how they’re “supposed to” act, people often react as if they’re being bossy or disrespectful.

Girls tend to worry more than boys about taking positive risks and making mistakes—and high-achieving girls worry most of all (sound familiar to any of you?). The difference in the varying messages that girls and boys receive from adults contributes greatly to this phenomenon. When they fail, girls often face more severe criticism [from adults] compared to boys, which leads them to associate failure with shame. Girls are also taught to place more importance on others’ opinions, causing them to internalize this criticism (again, SOUND FAMILIAR? Sure does to me!). This can hold our girls back because research shows that for teens, taking risks and failing is crucial for the development of vital life skills, including resilience and the confidence to embrace new challenges. We joined forces with Mary Catherine Starr, founder of Moms Life Comics on Instagram, to remind *all of us* caregivers that the words we use have a profound impact on our kids + teens. Together, we can transform how our girls think about taking positive risks and failure—let’s choose to help them build confidence! What differences have you noticed in how we treat girls and boys???Share more below to add to the list + help us all be more thoughtful about the words we use. #LeanInGirls