--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Imagine that a career is like a…" description: "\"“Imagine that a career is like a marathon—a long, grueling, and ultimately rewarding endeavor. Now imagine a marathon where both men and women arrive a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/056/sheryl-sandberg-439_men-and-women_imagine-that-a-career-is-like-a-marathon_1148381.jpg" --- # Imagine that a career is like a marathon—a long, grueling… ![“Imagine that a career is like a marathon—a long, grueling, and ultimately rewarding endeavor. Now imagine a marathon where both men and women arrive at the starting line equally fit and trained. The gun goes off. The men and women run side by side. The male marathoners are routinely cheered on…” quote by Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/056/sheryl-sandberg-439_men-and-women_imagine-that-a-career-is-like-a-marathon_1148381.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/056/sheryl-sandberg-439_men-and-women_imagine-that-a-career-is-like-a-marathon_1148381.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/056/sheryl-sandberg-439_men-and-women_imagine-that-a-career-is-like-a-marathon_1148381.jpg) > ““Imagine that a career is like a marathon—a long, grueling, and ultimately rewarding endeavor. Now imagine a marathon where both men and women arrive at the starting line equally fit and trained. The gun goes off. The men and women run side by side. The male marathoners are routinely cheered on: “Lookin’ strong! On your way!” But the female runners hear a different message. “You know you don’t have to do this!” the crowd shouts. Or “Good start—but you probably won’t want to finish.” The farther the marathoners run, the louder the cries grow for the men: “Keep going! You’ve got this!” But the women hear more and more doubts about their efforts. External voices, and often their own internal voice, repeatedly question their decision to keep running. The voices can even grow hostile. As the women struggle to endure the rigors of the race, spectators shout, “Why are you running when your children need you at home?”” [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Comparing gender bias to a marathon illustrates how societal messages undermine women's confidence and persistence in professional pursuits. **In simple terms:** Societal messages often discourage women from persisting in careers. Key Takeaway Challenge and change the narrative that limits women's ambition. Themes gender equality confidence career development Mood determined inspirational Type motivational reflective When to use this quote - workplace mentorship - career planning - public speaking - policy advocacy Key Concepts social conditioning self‑doubt Questions to Reflect On - How can organizations redesign feedback to support women equally? - What personal strategies help resist internalized doubt? A Different Perspective The analogy may oversimplify complex systemic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Like Marathon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-marathon-432634/) [Marathoners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marathoners-885945/) [Marathoners Routinely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marathoners-routinely-3233013/) [Men and women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-and-women/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Runners Hear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/runners-hear-3233014/) [Side by side](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/side-by-side/) [Women Struggle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women-struggle-663351/) ## Related quotes > [“They took off running like a couple of spastic marathoners.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/they-took-off-running-like-a-couple-of-spastic-marathoners/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [You make it all sound so simple. Run your guts out...collapse at the finish, throw up, that makes a good runner. Sounds like you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-brantly/you-make-it-all-sound-so-simple-run-your-guts-out-collapse-at-the/) [Keith Brantly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-brantly/) > [For most of the track world, the Olympic year is such a huge year, and it's a big year for us marathoners too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-hall/for-most-of-the-track-world-the-olympic-year-is-such-a-huge-year-and/) [Ryan Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-hall/) > [If marathoners finish they win.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-a-sheehan/if-marathoners-finish-they-win/) [George A. Sheehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-a-sheehan/) > [A season is like a marathon and there will be plenty of ups and downs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kolo-toure/a-season-is-like-a-marathon-and-there-will-be-plenty-of-ups-and-downs/) [Kolo Toure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kolo-toure/) > [Grit is living life like it's a marathon, not a sprint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/grit-is-living-life-like-it-s-a-marathon-not-a-sprint/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Life is like a marathon There is risk of losing If you walk slow; But that doesn’t mean that Everyone who walks fast wins”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinita-kothari/life-is-like-a-marathon-there-is-risk-of-losing-if-you-walk-slow-but/) [Vinita Kothari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinita-kothari/) > [“I run my household like a marathon. 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However, even if a woman is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yusuf-al-qaradawi/islam-never-differentiates-between-men-and-women-as-regards-political/) [Yusuf al-Qaradawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yusuf-al-qaradawi/) > [Relationships are never more important than your own self worth and if you don't have that then any relationship is worthless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enhance-dreams/relationships-are-never-more-important-than-your-own-self-worth-and/) [Enhance Dreams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enhance-dreams/) > [While husbands and lovers in the stories are of all kinds, ranging from sympathetic to disgusting, women are invariably deceivers: inconstant, unscrupulous, quarrelsome, querulous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/while-husbands-and-lovers-in-the-stories-are-of-all-kinds-ranging/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [“One had heard and read a great deal about death, and even seen a little of it, and knew by heart the thousand commonplaces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/one-had-heard-and-read-a-great-deal-about-death-and-even-seen-a/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [“Eddie saw great things and near misses. 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I wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tory-burch/one-of-the-reasons-i-wanted-to-start-a-company-is-because-i-wanted-an/) [Tory Burch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tory-burch/) [Browse all 5,305 Men and women quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-and-women/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Imagine that a career is like a marathon—a long, grueling, and ultimately rewarding endeavor. Now imagine a marathon where both men and women arrive at the starting line equally fit and trained. The gun goes off. The men and women run side by side. The male marathoners are routinely cheered on: “Lookin’ strong! On your way!” But the female runners hear a different message. “You know you don’t have to do this!” the crowd shouts. Or “Good start—but you probably won’t want to finish.” The farther the marathoners run, the louder the cries grow for the men: “Keep going! You’ve got this!” But the women hear more and more doubts about their efforts. External voices, and often their own internal voice, repeatedly question their decision to keep running. The voices can even grow hostile. 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