Facebook’s No. 2 exec pays tribute to single mothers
ASSOCIATED PRESS / NOV. 2015
In this file photo, Facebook chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg speaks during a forum in San Francisco. Sandberg said in a touching Mothers Day weekend Facebook post that until her husband’s death she never realized how hard it is to be a single parent.
MENLO PARK, Calif. » Facebook’s No. 2 executive Sheryl Sandberg says she never realized how hard it is to be a single parent until her husband died a year ago.
In a touching Mother’s Day weekend post on Facebook, Sandberg says the odds are stacked against single moms. Many live in poverty, work two jobs or don’t get paid leave to care for themselves or children if they get sick, she says.
“I did not really get how hard it is to succeed at work when you are overwhelmed at home,” Sandberg wrote.
She called on leaders to rethink public and corporate policies to better support single mothers. She didn’t say whether anything will change at Facebook, where she is chief operating officer.
Sandberg’s husband, Dave, died in a treadmill accident a year ago while on vacation in Mexico.
Here are other thoughts she shared on single parenting, leave policies and her book:
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BEING A SINGLE MOM:
Sandberg says she never realized how often situations come up where she’s unable to stop her son or daughter from crying. “What would Dave do if he were here?” she asks herself. Sandberg writes that she never realized how many events such as father-daughter dances there are at schools and how hard they are for children without dads.
LEAVE POLICIES:
The U.S., Sandberg says, is the only developed economy in the world that does not provide workers paid maternity leave. She says we need to rethink policies to better support single mothers. The post doesn’t address Facebook’s own policies. Facebook does offer U.S. employees up to four months of paid parental leave. It’s among several high-tech companies that offer benefits around childbirth.
LEAN IN
Sandberg concedes she’s fortunate not to have the financial worries that many single moms face. She admits that in her 2013 book “Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead,” she should have written more about women raising children without a partner. “I will never experience and understand all of the challenges most single moms face, but I understand a lot more than I did a year ago.”
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9 responses to “Facebook’s No. 2 exec pays tribute to single mothers”
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okay boohoo, her husband died in a private luxury resort falling off a treadmill while surfing Facebook on his smartphone. She is billionaire and most likely has six nannies, ten house maids, a chef, a butler, a chauffeur and a bodyguard. She could trivially remarry to some brain surgeon or investment banker or a European head of state or whatever if she would just take a night off from work.
This is so sanctimonious it’s borderline insulting to most single moms in this country who actually LEGITIMATELY struggle.
Yes, and most single moms, aka unwed mothers, struggle with illegitimate children.
You just get dumber all of the time.
I’m glad to hear from her; she’s been in my prayers ever since the death of her husband. No matter how much money you have, suddenly losing a beloved spouse and becoming a single parent overnight can’t be easy.
And what about single fathers, who have all the same problems plus gender discrimination working against them.
She didn’t say anything against single fathers. And what gender discrimination are you talking about?
Have no sympathy for her. She has the resources for a comfortable living. If she cared enough for her family, quit and be a stay at home mom instead of a high priced executive. She wants it both ways. Life is not that simple!
She’s bring attention to the other mothers who aren’t in the same kind of position she is, and what is wrong with that? Would you say the same thing if it came from a man?
bringing, not bring.