Welcome to The Broad Experience, the show about women, the workplace and success. I'm Ashley Milne Tite.

This week, a debate on Facebook Chief Operating Officer Cheryl Sandberg's book, Lean In. The subtitle of the book is Women, Work, and the Will to Lead.

And in it, Sandberg asks women to examine the internal obstacles that are

holding them back from getting to the top. The book's topping the New York Times bestseller list

in the US and leaning in has become a catchphrase and a big topic of conversation among professional

women. There were six women in this debate, including me. We were hosted by Dora Komiak, a long-time

listener to the podcast at her family's apartment in Greenwich Village in Manhattan. I'll let

everyone introduce themselves. I'm Stacey Marie Ishmael and I work in technology and media.

I'm Yvonne Martin and I work for an e-commerce company by day and I'm a board member of a dance company by night.

I'm Dora Komiak and I have an advisory firm that helps companies figure out what to do online.

I'm Gia Freireesh and I'm a relationship manager for a financial software company.

I'm Rebecca Jackson and I'm a former investment banking professional turned

startup consultant and advisor. Before we plunge into the conversation, I should say that

Princeton Professor Anne-Marie's slaughter comes up in conversation a few times. She's the former

State Department official who wrote an article last summer in the Atlantic, entitled, Why

Women Still Can't Have It All? And her views on women and

work are often mentioned as a counterpoint to Sandbergs because slaughter focuses on the external

obstacles women face in getting ahead, like gender bias and lousy childcare policies.

I mean, I thought I would just begin by asking people, because there was such a brouhaha about this book before it even was

published, I wanted to just ask people to pitch in and say, what did you think of the book

versus what you thought you knew about it before you read it? Well, initially, I read the book

before I read any of the reviews and and I found her very likable,

...