Sheryl Sandberg on Women in Technology
At 42 years old, Sheryl Sandberg has followed her dreams and is now the chief operating officer of the most popular social networking site in the world, Facebook. This success follows a stellar business career that has taken her from the US Treasury Department to Google and now to a top position at Facebook. She recently spoke at the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing, giving the audience a unique look at what she believes are the reasons there are so few women in high positions in the technology world and in the business world in general.
During her talk, one of the most telling statements she made was, “I have never worked for a woman, and I have never worked with a lot of women.” Imagine the implications of this for women, resounding all the way though their lives. From deciding on educational majors to making serious career choices, women seem to not be nearly as comfortable as men in choosing the fields of business and technology. Women in the technology world are a definite rarity.
Sandberg was speaking to a group of mainly college age women, telling them it is up to their generation to make a change in world of women and technology. She stated that, “The main reason women don’t go into computer science turns out to be women don’t go into computer science.” This self-defeating attitude needs to change if women are going to excel and reach senior positions in technology related businesses. Although it is a recent decision of hers to be vocal about her views of women in the business and technology sectors, she feels it is time to advocate for a change by supporting the next generation of young women.
Both Forbes and The Wall Street Journal have ranked Sandberg in their 50 Most Powerful Women in Business and 50 Women to Watch lists. Quite an accomplishment for this influential businesswoman!
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