What makes leaning in easier? Doing it together.
Today, on the two year anniversary of "Lean In," Sheryl Sandberg's LeanIn.Org launched a new campaign called #LeanInTogether that encourages men to help women in the fight for gender equality. In partnership with the NBA and WNBA, the campaign emphasizes the economic and social benefits men can gain from equality.
Influential athletes such as Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Stephen Curry demonstrate how they support the women in their lives and are ready to push back against traditional gender roles. The campaign also partnered with the WNBA, including stars like Skylar Diggins and Elena Delle Donne.
“Our players are committed to being the best fathers and husbands they can be,” Commissioner of the NBA and WNBA Adam Silver said in a press release. “#LeanInTogether will help all men achieve this goal and create a better world for them and their families.”
NBA and WNBA stars explain why they're leaning in for equality.
The Huffington Post spoke to Sheryl Sandberg about why #LeanInTogether chose the NBA and WNBA as a partner in their campaign. "The idea is to take the conversation about men to where men are," she said.
"In order for women to be seen as leaders, we’re also going to have to support men as caregivers," Sandberg told HuffPost. "Both sides of these coins work together, you can’t really have one without the other."
Other celebrities who joined the initiative include Condoleezza Rice, Lena Dunham, Hillary Clinton, Marian Wright Edelman and Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Condoleezza Rice, Lena Dunham, Hillary Clinton, Marian Wright Edelman and others highlight the men in their lives who helped them lean in.
In a March 5 New York Times article, Sandberg emphasized that we should focus on the fairness and economic value that gender equality could bring. "Twenty-five percent of United States gross domestic product growth since 1970 is attributed to the increase in women entering the paid work force," she wrote. "Today, economists estimate that raising women’s participation in the work force to the same level as men could raise G.D.P. by another 5 percent in the United States." That's pretty impressive since the average annual G.D.P. growth in the U.S. is around 2.5 percent.
The initiative hopes to motivate men to work towards equality in all areas of their lives, including at home with housework, with their children, in their marriages and at work. The campaign includes tips that men can implement in their daily lives at work and at home.
Some of the tips include being an active father by participating in caregiving and being a 50/50 partner by doing half of the childcare and housework. Tips for men at work include actively giving women credit when it's due and sharing "office house work" such as organizing events and training new hires.
"When men lean in for equality, they win -- and so does everyone else," Lean In's website reads.
In for equality? Pass it on by either posting an image to social media showing why you're for equality or an image of a man in your life who's leaning in for equality with the hashtag #LeanInTogether.
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