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  • Lean Out

  • The Truth About Women, Power, and the Workplace
  • Written by: Marissa Orr
  • Narrated by: Misty Wells
  • Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins
  • 3.4 out of 5 stars (8 ratings)

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Lean Out cover art

Lean Out

Written by: Marissa Orr
Narrated by: Misty Wells
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Publisher's Summary

Girl gangs reigning terror at Facebook, narcissistic overlords at Google...this is the backdrop of Lean Out, which takes listeners on the journey of Marissa Orr, a single mom of three trying to find success in her 15-year career at the world’s top tech giants. Orr delivers an ambitious attempt to answer the critical question: What have we gotten wrong about women at work?

“This book is a must-read for insights on the impact that reversing systemic gender biases can have on creating more diverse, healthier workplaces for both women and men.” (Joanne Harrell, Senior Director, USA Citizenship, Microsoft)

“This book will make you think differently about what it will take for women to succeed at the highest levels in American business.” (Rishad Tobaccowala, Chief Growth Officer, Publicis Groupe)

Lean Out offers a new and refreshingly candid perspective on what it’s really like for today’s corporate underdogs. Based on both in-depth research and personal experiences, Orr punctures a gaping hole in today’s feminist rhetoric and sews it back up with compelling new arguments for the reasons more women don’t make it to the top and how companies can better incentivize women by actually listening to what they have to say and by rewarding the traits that make them successful. In Lean Out, Orr uncovers:

  • Why our pursuit to close the gender gap has come at the expense of female well-being.
  • The need to redefine success and change the way corporations choose their leaders.
  • The way most career advice books targeting professional women seek to change their behavior rather than the system.
  • Why modern feminism has failed to make any progress on its goals for equality.

More than 50 years since the passage of the Equal Pay Act, the wage gap still hovers at 80 percent, and only five percent of CEOs in the Fortune 500 are women. Today, rising up the ranks in many companies still often means cutthroat, win-at-all-costs tactics, where being the loudest voice in the room is more important than being the person with the best ideas for moving the company forward. Not surprisingly, most women don’t want to play this game. An everyday working woman with a sardonic sense of humor, Orr is an endearing antihero who captures the voice for a new generation of women at work. Lean Out presents a revolutionary path forward, to change the life trajectories of women in the corporate world and beyond.

©2019 Marissa Orr (P)2019 HarperCollins Leadership

What the critics say

'Lean Out is a highly readable book that has 'leaned in' and listened to many--and maybe the majority of--women in the workplace. Many, many women will proclaim, 'Finally, an honest book that gets me, who I am, where I am, where I'm trying to get to, and the myriad of roadblocks stopping me.' If you're a working woman, read it to feel validated and less alone and uplifted in your struggle.' --Mark Goulston, author of Just Listen: Discover the Secret to Getting Through to Absolutely Anyone
'For the first time in a long time, I finally read a book that states clear facts around the gender issues, with sound research backing the assumptions, in a simple way for men and women to comprehend. This book should be read by leaders of all types, as it provides a fresh perspective on valuing oneself without shame or blame, while preparing the reader for the corporate ladder.' --Dr. Betty Uribe, Executive Vice President, California Bank and amp; Trust and author of #Values: The Secret to Top Level Performance in Business and Life
'This book will make you think differently about what it will take for women to succeed in American business, by exploding myth after myth with cogent arguments and simple common sense.' --Rishad Tobaccowala, Chief Growth Officer, Publicis Groupe

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I really connected with her message!

I will admit that the first part of the book I'd a bit of a personal rant. However, she makes good points about how we are always trying to make women fit the established system, rather than changing the system.

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Just another side of awful

The topic had potential. The rebuttal side to lean in had potential but wow did she fail. This book is a whiney, self centred outlook of being a woman in business. A “whoa is me” approach to why she’s struggled and anything that’s worth while to actually dig into and help build bridges and solutions she barely addresses. If you have children and are looking to make excuses why everything else is someone else’s fault this is the book for you. If you’re a woman who’s passionate about business, building exceptional relationships and you don’t hate women without children I’d go read something else.

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