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In April 2012, I was introduced to Cheryl Sandberg who is Chief Operating Officer of Facebook and founder of the Lean In Foundation.
From the get-go I was sold.
I embraced the book, blogs, Twitter and Facebook pages. I discredited any negative reviews because how could a movement that lets women know they can have it all be possibly flawed or exclusive.
I'd just started a new job and was convinced that I too could Lean In to my career, personal life and hobbies.
A month later I found out I was pregnant and even then I was determined to lean in to my career, motherhood and personal life. A few months later, baby arrived and a few months after that I had to return to work.
You learn very quickly that one cannot lean in hard to career, family and life if you don’t have the right social network and enough capital to support paid social networks to fill in the gaps when you are out leaning in.
The main lesson is that capital trumps ambition.
For a young mother, one has to invest substantially in child care and trade in love to ensure that your child is well taken care of and developmentally stimulated. This care comes at a substantial cost-one that most underemployed women know they cannot afford and therefore settle for lesser quality service or using less minimally qualified nannies to fill the gap.
The lesson here is no matter how much you lean in to your career, you will marginally be underemployed and if you are a women of colour you will substantially be under employed.
If you happen to be a young single mother needing to pay a nanny to look after your child, chances are you will under employ that nanny and therefore contribute to the vicious circle of underemployment of women.
Sandberg makes repeated mention of her ability to leave the office at 5pm and get home to be with her husband and children. She and her husband made a decision that one parent (husband) could stay home for a substantial portion of the day while she went to work.
Many South African families cannot afford the luxury where one parent can work flexi time and still be able to make ends meet. It’s just economically difficult, even for those who attempt it.
My lesson of this type of feminism is what bell hooks defines as a ‘faux feminism’ where one is catapulted into the sphere of feminism by mass media but does nothing to change the cultural imperialism, yet benefits from using feminist rhetoric.
While I continue to be a firm believer in the feminism and hard work punted by Sheryl and the folks at Lean In, in 2014 I will manage my expectations of how I lean in and remember I am not a multi-millionaire like Sandberg and that, if I give it my all and believe that is my best effort, that that too is a form of Lean In.
Follow Women24 on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
From the get-go I was sold.
I embraced the book, blogs, Twitter and Facebook pages. I discredited any negative reviews because how could a movement that lets women know they can have it all be possibly flawed or exclusive.
I'd just started a new job and was convinced that I too could Lean In to my career, personal life and hobbies.
A month later I found out I was pregnant and even then I was determined to lean in to my career, motherhood and personal life. A few months later, baby arrived and a few months after that I had to return to work.
You learn very quickly that one cannot lean in hard to career, family and life if you don’t have the right social network and enough capital to support paid social networks to fill in the gaps when you are out leaning in.
The main lesson is that capital trumps ambition.
For a young mother, one has to invest substantially in child care and trade in love to ensure that your child is well taken care of and developmentally stimulated. This care comes at a substantial cost-one that most underemployed women know they cannot afford and therefore settle for lesser quality service or using less minimally qualified nannies to fill the gap.
The lesson here is no matter how much you lean in to your career, you will marginally be underemployed and if you are a women of colour you will substantially be under employed.
If you happen to be a young single mother needing to pay a nanny to look after your child, chances are you will under employ that nanny and therefore contribute to the vicious circle of underemployment of women.
Sandberg makes repeated mention of her ability to leave the office at 5pm and get home to be with her husband and children. She and her husband made a decision that one parent (husband) could stay home for a substantial portion of the day while she went to work.
Many South African families cannot afford the luxury where one parent can work flexi time and still be able to make ends meet. It’s just economically difficult, even for those who attempt it.
My lesson of this type of feminism is what bell hooks defines as a ‘faux feminism’ where one is catapulted into the sphere of feminism by mass media but does nothing to change the cultural imperialism, yet benefits from using feminist rhetoric.
While I continue to be a firm believer in the feminism and hard work punted by Sheryl and the folks at Lean In, in 2014 I will manage my expectations of how I lean in and remember I am not a multi-millionaire like Sandberg and that, if I give it my all and believe that is my best effort, that that too is a form of Lean In.
Follow Women24 on Twitter and like us on Facebook.
