Nearly two years ago the Library Leadership Reading Group (steered by the super Jo Alcock) read Lean in By Sheryl Sandberg. I did not have access to a copy at the time but read commentary on it and watched her Ted video.

There was a really good twitter discussion in the group that you can read here.

Thanks to the serendipity of wandering the shelves at the Public Library I have finally got hold of a copy and read it (sadly the period between me borrowing it and reading it encompassed the death of the author’s husband David Goldberg). I am glad I took the time to read the book and would recommend it to all (it is a value packed 170 or so pages).

I am very aware that any comments from me come from a position of privilege. I also do not wish to share too much of what is not mine alone to share. Suffice to say that I recognise my own failure to do all I can do to advance equality at home and work.

The book strikingly presents some of the ways gender impacts on how people are perceived, treated and work. It places a challenge to men and women to address imbalances that remain significant. We need to talk about these issues and we need to work on addressing them.  I plan to do both – at home and at work.