52 pages • 1-hour read
Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Key Figures
Sheryl Sandberg
Although Lean In does not have characters in the same sense a work of fiction would, Sandberg does make conscious decisions about how to characterize the real-life people that populate her book. This is true even of Sandberg herself: by narrating the way she does, Sandberg shapes the way readers are likely to view her. Sandberg's self-presentation becomes particularly significant in light of her discussion of the double-bind powerful women face: if they are too "nice," they are perceived as incompetent, but if they are too competent, they are perceived as unlikeable. Since women (including Sandberg's readers) are not immune to stereotyping, Lean In needs to walk a very fine line between authoritative and personable.
Sandberg relies on a handful of strategies in order achieve this effect. Although she makes no secret of her professional successes, Sandberg doesn't list her credentials at the outset of the book. Instead, she intersperses relevant anecdotes from her career throughout Lean In in order to back up her broader points—a technique that recalls her advice on linking individual claims, arguments and discussions to the interests of a community. She also positions herself within the relatable (and traditionally feminine) context of family by frequently alluding to her parents, husband, and children. Finally, she uses a conversational, self-deprecating, and occasionally humorous tone to speak to her readers on a personal and friendly level; she pokes fun, for instance, at her job as a 1980s aerobics instructor, complete with "a silver leotard, leg warmers, and a shiny headband, all of which went perfectly with [her] big hair" (33). Taken together, these techniques paint a picture of Sandberg as good-natured, idealistic, and determined—all of which make her an effective messenger for the book's central ideas.
Dave Goldberg
Sandberg's second husband, Dave Goldberg, features prominently in Lean In, where he often serves as an example of the kind of man Sandberg hopes to see more of in the future. Though just as committed to his career as Sandberg is to hers (at the time she wrote Lean In, Goldberg was the CEO of Survey Monkey), Dave is also what Sandberg refers to as a "real partner"—a husband who supports his wife's career by sharing equally in household chores, compromising on his own plans when necessary, and refusing to feel threatened by his wife's success. Sandberg does not necessarily advise all men to follow in the exact same path as her husband—in fact, she expects to see more men devote themselves full-time to parenting as gender roles break down—but she does present their marriage as a model of the sort of egalitarian partnership that's possible when men repudiate traditional norms of masculinity. All in all, Dave comes across as a reliable, sensitive, and intelligent partner.
Mark Zuckerberg
Mark Zuckerberg is famous as the founder and CEO of Facebook, but in Lean In, he appears simply as "Mark"—Sandberg's friend and boss. Just as Sandberg presents her husband as the ideal partner, Mark appears as a kind of ideal employer, particularly for women. Mark takes a personal and compassionate interest in Sandberg's life, allowing her to tweak her schedule to accommodate the needs of her family and even offering her a hug when she breaks down crying in front of him. This sets him apart from employers who demand that their employees maintain a rigid separation between life at home and life at work—something that can be particularly difficult for women to do.
Adele Einhorn (Sandberg's Mother)
Sandberg's mother appears throughout Lean In as a source of inspiration and an example of all that it is possible to accomplish even in the face of sexism. Although Adele Einhorn's life outwardly conforms much more to gender norms than her daughter's—she dropped out of her PhD program in order to become a full-time mother—she has nevertheless achieved a great deal, first doing volunteer work on behalf of Jews in the Soviet Union, then returning to school and working as a teacher, and finally founding a non-profit organization. Furthermore, Sandberg credits her mother for much of her own success, explaining that she pushed all of her children to excel and divided housework more evenly with her husband than the average 1970s housewife. Sandberg in turn traces Adele's character to the way her own mother raised her, tying her portrayal of Adele to a broader argument about the importance of female role models.
Larry Summers
Sandberg credits many individuals with teaching and guiding her over the years, but Summers ultimately emerges as one of the most important of these mentors. Summers taught at Harvard while Sandberg was an undergraduate, and acted as her senior thesis advisor—"something very few Harvard professors volunteer to do for undergraduates" (67). Summers would go on to hire Sandberg twice: once out of college, to work at the World Bank, and once shortly after she finished business school, to work at the Treasury Department. Sandberg therefore uses Summers as an example of the positive impact male mentors can have on female employees; seeing Sandberg's potential, Summers repeatedly reached out to help and share his expertise with her.
Unlock analysis of every key figure
Get a detailed breakdown of each key figure’s role and motivations.
- Explore in-depth profiles for every key figure
- Trace key figures’ turning points and relationships
- Connect important figures to a book’s themes and key ideas