Sheryl Sandberg: Women can lead and nurture

Bloomberg

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg's new book, Lean In, is a bestseller that urges women to seize more opportunities in their lives. On Friday, Sandberg answered questions about the book on her official Facebook page.

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By Luke Stangel

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg tested out her company’s new threaded replies feature today, fielding questions about her new book, ‘Lean In.’
More than 200 women replied to the call on Sandberg’s official ‘Lean In’ Facebook page. In a span of 30 minutes, Sandberg replied to 17 questions, ranging from mentorship to the need for more women in STEM programs.
“We need women to lead in every industry,” Sandberg wrote, replying to a teacher. “Given that we are 50% of the population, we should have 50% of the leadership roles. … I think women need to reach for leadership opportunities that they want — and often, men reach to lead and women do not. We see that this starts as early as junior high when more boys than girls want to be their class President. So you should apply for the leadership roles — and encourage other women to as well!”
Sandberg’s new book has topped the charts on Amazon.com and the New York Times bestseller list. The book will be printed and distributed in 20 other countries, with local women leaders writing the forwards for each version, Sandberg wrote. She’ll share some of the forwards at the Women in the World conference next week.
The book urges women to “lean in” and seize opportunities for advancement in their careers. The book is not without controversy, with critics saying Sandberg is a well educated, white multimillionaire tech executive, out of touch with the realities of average Americans.
“For me what matters the most is that we each find [our own] way to lean in,” Sandberg wrote, partially addressing the criticism. “Lean In does not ascribe a specific course of action for anyone to follow — we all have to have own on goals and dreams. But it does center on the belief that we can reach for more than we might have thought. Like men, we can lead. We can also nurture. We can be both employees and parents — or either.”
Friday’s live Q&A was one of the first big tests of Facebook’s new threaded comments feature on Pages, which rolled out across the site earlier this week. Sandberg was able to reply to individual comments, better organizing official responses to questions.

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