Opinion

10 Years after Sheryl Sandberg’s book ‘Lean In,’ women are on the outs

By
Kay Hymowitz
Published May 27, 2023
Updated May 27, 2023, 2:33 p.m. ET
Former Facebook exec Sheryl Sandberg launched a neo-feminist movement with the publication of her seminal book 'Lean In' a decade ago. Since then, women have moved on to more socially-minded heroes -- and Sandberg now runs a non-profit. Getty Images for Vanity Fair

the block🍃buster book by Sheryl Sandberg that helped spawn a rising generation of “girlbosses,” turns 10 this year.

the blockb🦹uster book by Sheryl Sandberg that helped spawn a rising generation of “girlbosses,” turns 10 this year.

If the former Facebook COO, now billionaire philanthropist and founder ♒of , is planning to celebrate, she may have trouble findi🌊ng younger women to join the party.  

Officially titled “Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead,” Sanberg’s opus was less a book than a manifesto for launching a new femin🌟ist revolution.

Too few women were in leadership positions, Sandberg proclaimed, and it w﷽asn’t only because of sexism as most feminists insisted.

Women were undermining themselves.

Don’t apologize for your ambitions, she lectured; aim ꦺfor the top;🔥 ask for that raise.

Sandberg famously 🔯began her stint at Facebook when she had a 6-mon꧒th-old and a 2-year-old.

That needn’t get in the way of leaning in.

She urged her readers to bring their whole self to work, or in her words, “Don’t l🀅eave before you leave.” 

Sandberg famously arrived at Facebook with two small children at home and a message for women that they must 'lean into' office life with their whole selves. She eventually left Facebook amid a cloud of suspicion owing to the company's shady surveillance practices.
Sandberg famously arrived at Facebook with two small children at home and a message for women that they must ‘lean into’ office life with their whole selves. She eventually left Facebook amid a cloud of suspicion owing to the company’s shady surveillance practices. Getty Images

Pretty without being va-voom, charismatic but accessible, oozing smarts and competence, Sandberg had so many fans she b🌠ecame the corporate ver💟sion of Beyoncé.

“Lean In” planted itself atop the bestseller lists for more than a year

Media editors and producers lined up for worship꧋ful interviews with Sandberg who had a remarkable genius for hashtags.

Women flocked to where they shared their frustrations and doubts with other strivers. Schools, employers — including the — organized their own circles, and not just in the United States.

Since its publication a decade ago, 'Lean In' has sold millions of copies and become a manifesto of sorts for a take-charge office style that, while serving many women, no longer feels au courant.
Since its publication a decade ago, ‘Lean In’ has sold millions of copies and become a manifesto of sorts for a take-charge office style that, while serving many women, no longer feels au courant.

“Lean In” groups meet in Malaysia, Thailand, Mexico, Zimbabwe, to name a few. 

Coincidence or not, the years after the book’s pub💯lication saw a parade of new women🙈 leaders.

By 2021 a✅ record 142 women were serving in Congress and 12 will be serving as governors in 2023.

The nation now has its first female vic🦩e president, first woman on a moon mission, and first woman Treasury secr💫etary, joining a record number of four other women as cabinet members.

Ten perce🍸nt of the Fortune 500 companies are run by women.

That may sound unimpressive✨, but it’s a sign꧋ificant increase over the 6% in 2018. 

Following the publication of Sandberg's book, lean-in circles sprung up worldwide to support female workers, including a circle run by the US Department of Defense.
Following the publication of Sandberg’s book, lean-in circles sprung up worldwide to support female workers, including a circle run by the US Department of Defense. AP

But a🥃 changing zeitgeist🥂 has caused significant setbacks for Sandberg and her movement.

When Sandberg moved to the COO office at Facebook, she found herself second in command of a company that made lots of its money from Instagram, a website now blamed for messing up the heads of tens of millions young body-hating women.

Increasingly, the public realized Facebook‘s promise of “connecting the world” was a euphemism for “conneꦆcting the world’s data to advertisers.”

After the 2016 election, Facebook’s reputation took a bigger hit when the company was accused of misinforꦺmation and conspiracy theories. 

Rumors swirled that Sandberg herself꧅ had hired a shady company to do

Nasty Gal founder Sophia Amoruso was a perfect example of the ‘Lean In’ ethos come to life — that is until her firm went bankrupt.

The kindly Mother Superior of leadership coaches was looking more and 🌟more like just another ruthless profit-cha𒊎ser.  

Nor is S𒉰andberg the only lean-inner to lose her corporate gloss. High profile girlbosses have been forced to tur﷽n their backs on the C-suite.

Audrey Gelman, co-founder of The Wing, a posher-than-thou, all-women co-working space valued at $365 million at its peak, left the company amid charges of racism and employee abuse; the Wing quietly shuttered last year.

A decade after 'Lean In' first appeared, the nation now has its first female vice president (above), first woman on a moon mission, and first woman Treasury Secretary, joining a record number of four other women as cabinet members.
A decade after ‘Lean In’ first appeared, the nation now has its first female vice president in Kamala Harris, its first woman on a moon mission, and its woman Treasury Secretary. AP

Sophia Amoruso, founder of Nasty Gal brand which rose from an Etsy virtual storefront in 2014 to $100-million national brand, actually penned a bestseller with the cheeky title but in short order filed for .

Last year, Amoruso instructed ꦫher Twitter followers:  

“Lean In” was imbued with a spirit of American can-do-ism and self-discipline.

That may have appealed to millennial women, but it’s far fr🐼om the 🦹Generation Z vibe. 

Gallup reports that of all ag🌜e groups, Zoomers are the most disengaged from their work.

One in thr✤ee office workers under 40 admits to “quiet quitting.” 

Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos is another high-profile female exec who hit it big during the 'Lean In' era, but succumbed to a spectacular fall; she now faces a lengthy jail sentence.
Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos is another high-profile female exec who hit it big during the ‘Lean In’ era, but succumbed to a spectacular fall — she now faces a lengthy jail sentence. AP

Employers report tha🍬t, when interviewed, this generation shows less interest in opportunities for promotion and leadership than in work-life balance and better personal well-being.

A report from McKꦆinsey & Company found that and are leading the charge for more remote work.

Though these tre🧜nds started before 2020, COVID surely added to workers’ detachment. It’s harder to lean in when you are locking down.  

Audrey Gelman, co-founder of The Wing, operated a series of co-working spaces aimed at women workers. Her 'Lean In' mentality served her well, but the company was later hit with racism charges and eventually closed its doors.
Audrey Gelman, co-founder of The Wing, operated a series of co-working spaces aimed at women workers. Her ‘Lean In’ mentality served her well, but the company was later hit with racism charges and eventually closed its doors. Getty Images for Chanel

Adding to disillusion with the lean-in credo is Gen Z’s mistrust of𒀰 capitalism. 

Polls reveal a generation that looks more favorably on socialism than capitalism, now blamed forꦺ climate change and the housing crisis. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-C♔ortez is their idea of a heroine.

The hashtag “eat the rich” litters their socia♛l-med꧂ia feeds. Sandberg emphasized individual grit; this generation sees workers as embattled by a corrupt, uncaring system. 

Polls suggest that young women today are done with business-focused leaders like Sandberg and are embracing more progressive — and even Socialist-minded — leaders such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Polls suggest that young women today are done with business-focused leaders like Sandberg and are embracing more progressive — and even Socialist-minded — leaders such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Getty Images

Their skepticism may be understandable.

After all, if millennials had Sandberg as theღir celebrity girlboss; Generation Z has Elizabeth Holmes.ඣ   

Kay S. Hymowitz is the William E. Simon Fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor of City Journal.