Lean In Mississippi is a women’s professional group inspired by Sheryl Sandberg’s book Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead.
The mission of the group is to help women in Mississippi advance in their careers by providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and information in a safe and supportive environment. We are a group that values diversity of age, race, orientation, religion and more. The group is entirely volunteer run. What to expect:
Expect to be surrounded by women who are energetic, ambitious, bossy, curious, ch
allenging, kind, supportive, authentic and honest. Expect to be asked about your skills, your goals, your dreams and how we can help you get where you need to go. We will be meeting every other month on third Thursday of the month, time still TBD but will be evenings after work. Meetings will typically follow a format of arrive/mingle, educational session (e.g., negotiating, how to use social media, interviewing skills, etc.), Q&A, mingle/depart. Meetings will take place in member’s homes, or in publicly available venues (public library, church, etc.) if the group becomes larger than homes can accommodate. How we got here
Lean In Mississippi is an outgrowth of the Awesome Women Circle, founded in July 2015. That group of 13 women came together last year out of a sense of frustration with the world around us, needing support and a safe place to discuss hopes, dreams, fears and obstacles. We’re a mix of women aged 20-something to 50-something. Some are self-employed, others work for companies and non-profits large and small. We’re mostly white, with only one African American woman (which is one of the issues we’re looking to remedy with Lean In Mississippi). In the past year, four of our members have gotten new, bigger jobs, and all of us have found inspiration and energy from the meetings and gatherings. What’s next
Mississippi is a unique place with unique strengths. In order for us to thrive in the coming years, we need to tap into *all* of the intellectual, spiritual and energetic potential available to us. Despite what some government representatives and business leaders seem to think, that means that we need to create a place where the ideas and ambitions of women are acknowledged, nurtured and valued. We have the opportunity to build a network that can create profound change for women – and that will rock the status quo.
