From left: Dean Mayo Moran, Sheila Block, Susan Wolburgh Jenah and Prof. Anita Anand
By Kathleen Elhatton-Lake
Sheryl Sandberg’s book “Lean In” has sparked a conversation about women and work. On June 10th, the Program on Ethics in Law and Business at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law held a panel discussion which drew a crowd of more than 100 participants. Shelia Block (Torys LLP) moderated the discussion where Dean Mayo Moran, Susan Wolburgh Jenah (president and CEO of IIROC) and Professor Anita Anand weighed in on the book, its controversies, and if women in law need to “lean in."
All of the panelists identified with Sandberg’s description of her experiences as a woman, how she was treated by others, and her personal experiences of self-doubt. Wolburgh Jenah described the book as a “self aware call to action." Based on her experiences, she urged that careers don’t have to be carefully planned, as long as you are willing to take opportunities when they come your way.
Picking up on the theme that success and likeability are often not compatible for women in leadership positions, Moran noted Sandberg herself began by expressing her feelings of inadequacy, a technique she had to use to make herself likable to her readership. As a central idea, Moran encouraged women to “be brave.”
Shelia Block and Anita Anand discussed melding their private and personal lives. Work doesn’t need to be a universe separate from your home life but rather a part of your life as a whole person. The panelists described ways in which they had tried to bring together the two areas of life and the difficulties that remain. Anand criticized Sandberg’s suggestion that if you love your job enough you can do it, as being overly simplistic. “Loving your job is not a sufficient response to the work-life balance issue,” she said, emphasizing that you are regularly forced to make choices.
Audience and panelists recognized that the role of men in this conversation is of great importance. For change in the workplace to be successful, “leaning in” needs to be a conscious endeavour, for all of us, not just women.
The CLP hopes to follow up this successful event with a roundtable. Watch for details on the CLP website: www.clp.utoronto.ca.
