Are you having trouble Leaning In? Try Women Rule

Google, Politico, and Tory Burch Foundation team up for new women's leadership project

We’re all leaning in these days. Or at least we were a couple of months ago when Sheryl Sandberg’s book came out—then errrrybody was explaining how and why they’re leaning in or leaning out or lying down with a vodka tonic (which, incidentally, is my prescription for dealing with conflicting emotions over balancing career and motherhood. Pipe down, baby, Mama’s pourin’ herself a drink.).

Now, after Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg launched her organization, Lean In, in an effort to inspire women to take their career by the horns, Google, Politico, and the Tory Burch Foundation have teamed up to launch a new movement devoted to women and leadership. But it has a decidedly way less cool name: Women Rule.

Where Lean In has more of an entrepreneurial focus, Women Rule (or Girl Power, or Chicks Rock, or whatever) will have a broader focus on women in politics, business, policy, and other leadership positions. The project will center around a four-part event series in Washington, D.C., which will feature discussions with members of Congress, administration officials, leaders in business, and entrepreneurs on the way women are effecting change. A roundtable conversation will be held at each event.

The first event is scheduled for September. In August, Politico will launch the Women Rule landing page. The site will feature editorial features and video, as well as a Twitter campaign and merchandise featuring the yet-to-be-revealed Women Rule logo. Proceeds from sales will go to charities, including the Tory Burch Foundation, which supports women entrepreneurs through microfinance and mentoring.

“It is time to have an open discussion about the unique issues women face with our next generation of female leaders,” said Google’s VP of Government Relations and Public Policy, Susan Molinari, in a statement. “Google is delighted to join Politico and the Tory Burch Foundation in bringing together people from across the country to be part of this important discussion.”

It will be interesting to see how Women Rule (boys drool?) compares to Lean In, which allows women to create “circles” via Mightybell and hold regular meetings structured around news and topics posted on LeanIn.org. The Lean In community includes some pretty high-profile names, including actress Reese Witherspoon, Oprah Winfrey, professor and former dean Anne-Marie Slaughter (who authored the highly controversial Atlantic article “Why Women Still Can’t Have it All”), Senator Barbara Boxer, former First Lady Laura Bush, and former Chancellor of the D.C. public school system Michelle Rhee, among others.

Image source: technorati.com