Michelle Obama Keeps It Real About ‘Leaning In’ Saying It ‘Doesn’t Work All The Time’

Araceli Cruz - 12/03/18 - fierce

There’s countless reasons why former First Lady Michelle Obama is so beloved. For eight years the world saw a woman who made life look effortless. She easily transitioned from being a mom, wife, feminist, health nut, without missing a beat, all the while keeping it classy.

Now with the release of her memoir “Becoming,” we are getting an even more authentic look at this remarkable woman in a way we’ve never seen or heard before.

On Dec. 1, in a rare and candid moment during her book tour in Brooklyn, Obama kept things honest about the realities of the “lean in” women’s movement.

Speaking at Barclays Center on Saturday evening, Obama candidly touched on the struggles of ensuring a functioning work-life balance. “That whole ‘so you can have it all.’ Nope, not at the same time. That’s a lie,” Obama told an audience that had come to see her on her Becoming book tour. “And it’s not always enough to lean in, because that shit doesn’t work all the time.”

The amused crowd erupted at her blunder causing Obama to quickly apologize for her blunder. “I forgot where I was for a moment! I thought I was at home y’all. I was getting real comfortable up in here.”

The term was first coined by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg in her 2013 book in which she said in order for women to achieve success, women need to project confidence and “sit at the table” in order to be heard. The way to do physically do that is by “leaning in.”

Sandberg herself said earlier this year that “leaning in” isn’t as effective as she once believed because women weren’t better off today than they were in 2013.

“We are stuck at less than 6 percent of the Fortune 500 CEO jobs and their equivalent in almost every country in the world,” she said in USA Today. “There were 19 countries run by women when “Lean In” was published. Today there are 11. Congressional numbers have inched up a tiny bit. And so, overall, we are not seeing a major increase in female leadership in any industry or in any government in the world, and I think that’s a shame.”

 

The term “lean in” was first coined by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg in her 2013 book in which she said in order for women to achieve success they need to project confidence and “sit at the table” in order to be heard. According to Sandberg, the way to physically do this is by “leaning in.”

Sandberg herself said has said that “leaning in” isn’t as effective as she once believed because women weren’t better off today than they were in 2013. Last year the COO remarked that women “are stuck at less than 6 percent of the Fortune 500 CEO jobs and their equivalent in almost every country in the world,” she said in USA Today. “There were 19 countries run by women when ‘Lean In’ was published. Today there are 11. Congressional numbers have inched up a tiny bit. And so, overall, we are not seeing a major increase in female leadership in any industry or in any government in the world, and I think that’s a shame.”

It didn’t take long for Twitter to reveal just how much they loved seeing Obama get comfy.

If you were one of the 19,000 people at Barclays that night, you’ll definitely want to tell your kids about it one day.

It’s timeless advice from a timeless lady.

It might be true that you can’t have it all, but let’s be real, Obama will always be pretty darn close in our eyes.

 

It was clearly a night of laughs, cheers, and tears.

We can’t wait to hear what she’ll say next. She’ll return to Barclays on Dec. 19.

READ: Michelle Obama Talks About Going High At Times When Donald Trump’s Lowest of Lows Threatened The Lives Of Her Children

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