Why Asking Women To Lean In Undermines Gender Equality Efforts

Women’s Motivation to Protest Gender Inequality Reduced by “Lean In” Messaging

A new research study, which includes a survey of over 1100 women, has found that “lean in” messaging reduces women’s motivation to protest gender inequality. The popular phrase “Lean In,” coined by Sheryl Sandberg in her book “Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead,” encourages women in leadership to be confident and resilient in order to break through the glass ceiling.

“Blame-the-Victim” Narrative in “Lean In” Messaging

Dr Renata Bongiorno, the lead author of the research and Senior Lecturer in Psychology at Bath Spa University, highlights that the “lean in” messaging implies a blame-the-victim narrative. The focus on individual resilience suggests that women could succeed if they were more resilient, shifting the responsibility solely onto women to fix gender inequality.

Organizational Solutions vs. Individual Fixing

The “lean in” approach often promotes individual-focused initiatives that encourage women to fix themselves rather than addressing the systemic barriers women face. This not only fails to address the root causes of gender inequality but also damages men’s perceptions of women.

Men’s Perception and Collective Action

Dr Bongiorno emphasizes that the narrative of individual resilience perpetuates gender inequality and places the blame on women. To overcome these challenges and promote gender equality, companies should focus on three actions:

1. Examine Existing Efforts

Companies must assess their current initiatives and determine whether they primarily focus on changing women or changing the organization’s culture, systems, policies, and processes. Individual-focused initiatives may support personal development but do not tackle the systemic barriers of gender inequality.

2. Get The Balance Right

Organizations should strive for a balance between individual and organizational solutions. For every initiative focused on women, there should be at least one organizational-wide initiative. This ensures that efforts are not solely placed on women and prevents perpetuating gender inequality.

3. Enroll Men To Be A Part Of The Solution

Companies should educate men about the barriers women face and engage them in identifying solutions to remove these obstacles. It is crucial to shift the focus from fix-the-women strategies to collective support and collaboration.

By implementing these actions, companies can ensure their gender equality efforts have a meaningful impact and contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. SDG 5: Gender Equality

   • Target 5.1: End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere
   • Target 5.5: Ensure women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic, and public life
   • Indicator 5.1.1: Whether or not legal frameworks are in place to promote, enforce, and monitor equality and non-discrimination on the basis of sex
   • Indicator 5.5.1: Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments and local governments

2. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

   • Target 10.3: Ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome, including by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies, and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies, and action in this regard
   • Indicator 10.3.1: Proportion of population reporting having personally felt discriminated against or harassed in the previous 12 months on the basis of a ground of discrimination prohibited under international human rights law

Analysis

The issues highlighted in the article are connected to SDG 5: Gender Equality and SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities.

SDG 5: Gender Equality

The article discusses how the “lean in” approach, which encourages women to build their resilience and confidence, can inadvertently shift the focus away from addressing systemic barriers and hold women solely accountable for fixing gender inequality at work. This aligns with Target 5.1 of SDG 5, which aims to end all forms of discrimination against women and girls everywhere. The article also mentions that the “lean in” messaging results in women being blamed for ongoing gender inequality and seen as responsible for fixing it, which relates to Target 5.5 of SDG 5 that focuses on ensuring women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic, and public life.

SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

The article highlights how the “lean in” approach can perpetuate gender inequality and place the blame on women. This connects to Target 10.3 of SDG 10, which aims to ensure equal opportunity and reduce inequalities of outcome by eliminating discriminatory laws, policies, and practices and promoting appropriate legislation, policies, and action in this regard.

The article mentions indicators that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets:

Indicator 5.1.1: Whether or not legal frameworks are in place to promote, enforce, and monitor equality and non-discrimination on the basis of sex

The article discusses how the “lean in” approach can result in women being blamed for ongoing gender inequality, indicating a need to assess whether legal frameworks are in place to promote equality and non-discrimination on the basis of sex.

Indicator 5.5.1: Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments and local governments

The article mentions that the “lean in” messaging reduces women’s motivation to protest gender inequality, indicating a potential impact on the proportion of seats held by women in decision-making bodies.

Indicator 10.3.1: Proportion of population reporting having personally felt discriminated against or harassed in the previous 12 months on the basis of a ground of discrimination prohibited under international human rights law

The article discusses how the “lean in” approach can perpetuate gender inequality and place the blame on women, indicating a need to assess the proportion of the population reporting discrimination or harassment based on prohibited grounds of discrimination.

Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: forbes.com