Facebook Inc (FB)’s Sheryl Sandberg: On a Mission to Elevate Women

Page 2 of 2

“That was really the first time I spoke up,” she says. Since then, Sandberg has come to call herself “a proud feminist.”

Sandberg says it was the flood of responses that she received following the speech that got her thinking about writing a book. Some women wrote to her and said the speech encouraged them to ask for a raise. Others said it motivated them to ask for more family friendly work hours.

LeanIn.org grew out of the book with the help of co-founder Gina Bianchini, who was inspired by a course she took at Stanford University’s Clayman Institute for Gender Research called “Voice & Influence.” Its mission — “to empower women and men to be as effective as possible and to create organizations where all people can thrive” — is at the core of LeanIn.org. LeanIn.org hopes to reach as many people as possible by offering materials and easy-to-replicate guidelines online, for free. Sandberg calls it a platform, which, in the technology world means something that others can take, change and make their own.

“We are a start-up,” Sandberg says. “We are going to see what happens, and what companies do with our platform.”

The article Sheryl Sandberg: On a Mission to Elevate Women originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Associated Press

The Motley Fool recommends Facebook and Google. The Motley Fool owns shares of Facebook and Google.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Page 2 of 2