--- description: Find out why Shannon Watts called out United Airlines for its leggings policy and why Sheryl Sandberg says 'Lean In' didn't help women. title: This Week in Motto: What We're Getting Wrong image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1403a13071650ee2/6988c0c90b72e330126ed27d/math-what-were-getting-wrong.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [motto](/tag/motto/) ## motto Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # This Week in Motto: What We're Getting Wrong  by [Claire Howorth](/author/claire-howorth/)  ## Claire Howorth Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 31, 2017 6:57 PM CUT  Caucasian professor examining equations on whiteboard Caucasian professor examining equations on whiteboardHill Street Studios/Tobin Rogers—Getty Images/Blend Images  by [Claire Howorth](/author/claire-howorth/)  ## Claire Howorth Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 31, 2017 6:57 PM CUT I always hated math. I was not good at it (I have the grades to prove it), and it never electrified my mind the way reading, history or art do. But reading Stanford professor Jo Baeler’s [piece](https://click.email.time.com/?qs=a8942b2b4ead7ad797fe2012fa67efe0012f8e445b3b14417f244ee002b368696cf77efe855c66445b05805d586204e2ea3dcef9ca83f8ce "undefined") this week, I reconsidered more than just QRMS and Trig 101\. She made me rethink how we learn to think. The bottom line from Jo: female students like to engage deeply with material, but we tend to blame ourselves when we don’t understand something. Math, meanwhile, is often taught in a quick, rote style. So, my hatred of math may not have been a self-fulfilling prophecy but a teaching style-fulfilled one. What else do we blame ourselves for that may in fact be the effect of much greater cultural forces? In other news, where do you stand on [Leggingsgate](https://click.email.time.com/?qs=a8942b2b4ead7ad7165901daa73cab62451566af636edd23a6028ab16110648ea58edcdb9452f8cbcc0600d05b5523f563607e5f2a0010ab "undefined")? Happy Friday, Claire [Claire.Howorth@time.com](mailto:Claire.Howorth@time.com "undefined") 1) [**_Too Many Responsibilities? Just Drop Them. Seriously._**](http://motto.time.com/4710852/overworked-women-tiffany-dufu-book-drop-the-ball/?xid=newsletter-motto "undefined") When executive Tiffany Dufu got rid of the impossible standards she set for herself, she found even more success 2) [**_I’m the Woman Who Called Out United and I’m Sick of Sexism_**](http://motto.time.com/4714476/united-leggings-ban-shannon-watts-why-it-was-sexist/?xid=newsletter-motto "undefined") After witnessing “Leggingsgate” firsthand, Shannon Watts explains why she decided to take a stand against women being policed for their clothing 3) [**_Sarah Dunn on the Open Marriage Plot Twist in Her New Novel_**](http://motto.time.com/4711084/sarah-dunn-the-arrangement-open-marriage-autism/?xid=newsletter-motto "undefined") The author spoke to _Motto_ about how her relationship inspired her work — and how her success has impacted her family 4) [**_Drybar Founder Alli Webb Offers Advice to Female Entrepreneurs_**](http://motto.time.com/4705499/drybar-founder-alli-webb-advice-female-entrepreneurs/?xid=newsletter-motto "undefined") The woman responsible for the successful salon chain shares how she overcame naysayers who thought blowouts were “frivolous” 5) [**_What Hollywood Gets Wrong About Female Astronauts and the Reality of Space_**](http://motto.time.com/4716473/hollywood-misconceptions-about-female-astronauts-space/?xid=newsletter-motto "undefined") A retired astronaut says a new film about women in space is doing a major disservice to the field 6) [**_Women Hold Hands on Westminster Bridge in Tribute to Terror Subjects_**](http://motto.time.com/4713652/women-westminster-bridge-london/?xid=newsletter-motto "undefined") Around 100 women, many of whom were Muslim, formed a human chain to honor the victims killed in the London attack 7) [**_Sheryl Sandberg Says Women Aren’t Better Off 4 Years After_** ](http://motto.time.com/4718126/sheryl-sandberg-lean-in/?xid=newsletter-motto "undefined")[**Lean In**](http://motto.time.com/4718126/sheryl-sandberg-lean-in/?xid=newsletter-motto "undefined") The Facebook COO also reflected on the criticism that she focused too heavily on corporate women 8) [**_Italian Lawmakers Want to Implement Paid Menstrual Leave_**](http://motto.time.com/4714991/italy-lawmakers-paid-menstrual-leave/?xid=newsletter-motto "undefined") Four female politicians introduced legislation, but some say the policy could actually end up hurting women ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4721106/sheryl-sandberg-lean-in-united-leggings-policy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4721106/sheryl-sandberg-lean-in-united-leggings-policy/"},"headline":"This Week in Motto: What We're Getting Wrong","datePublished":"2017-03-31T18:57:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:05:19.982Z","description":"Relive this week's top stories","url":"https://time.com/4721106/sheryl-sandberg-lean-in-united-leggings-policy/","keywords":["motto"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1403a13071650ee2/6988c0c90b72e330126ed27d/math-what-were-getting-wrong.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Claire Howorth","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/claire-howorth/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1403a13071650ee2/6988c0c90b72e330126ed27d/math-what-were-getting-wrong.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Caucasian professor examining equations on whiteboard","caption":"Caucasian professor examining equations on whiteboard","creditText":"Hill Street Studios/Tobin Rogers—Getty Images/Blend Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4721106/sheryl-sandberg-lean-in-united-leggings-policy/","name":"This Week in Motto: What We're Getting Wrong"}}]}] ```