[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAxQXZbhyvM]
In Sheryl Sandberg’s latest efforts to inspire women worldwide, the Facebook COO has launched a new project targeting recent college graduates. The What Would You Do if You Weren’t Afraid campaign asks young women to answer the question and then take action.
Sandberg, whose best-selling book Lean In advises women to be more assertive when it comes to advancing their career, has gained both praise and criticism while sparking a national conversation about how women might inadvertently be sabotaging themselves in the workplace.
“This year more than a million women will graduate from college, educated and prepared to take on the world. Are they ready?” The video poses this question while scanning the faces of fresh-faced young women gripping a poster board with their written responses. “I would ask more questions and speak up,” “I would ask for more money,” and “I would call myself a writer” are just a few of the answers mentioned.
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Sandberg addresses graduates with a blog post that challenges new graduates to create an equal world. “The gender biases in our society have already started to affect the way you view yourselves,” she wrote. “Millennial women are less likely than their male peers to characterize themselves as ‘self-confident’ and ‘leaders.'”
The Facebook exec points out that the “lowered expectations” begin in school and transition into the workplace. They can fix the problem, she says, by facing their fears. “If women lean in to their careers and men lean in to treating women as true equals, together, you can end these biases and break down both the external and internal barriers that hold women back.”
The Tumblr page aims to inspire young women to share their answers, and in turn, apply their responses to their personal lives. So, what would you do if you weren’t afraid?
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