Meta's Sandberg leaves an undervalued legacy

Sheryl Sandberg's departure from Meta marks the end of an era, not only for the company previously known as Facebook but also for a kind of feminism that has become somewhat unfashionable.

Nearly a decade ago, Sheryl Sandberg published “Lean In,” a book that was part manifesto, part memoir, based on a popular TED talk she had given in 2010. In it, she dispenses career advice to women with maxims such as “sit at the table,” “don't leave before you leave” and “make your partner a real partner.” Translation: Don't shy away from taking up space at work as if you don't really have anything important to contribute; don't pursue a kid-friendly career path while your kids are still imaginary; choose a partner who will carry his weight at home.

The advice relied heavily on her own experience but was often peppered with nuggets from psychological or sociological research. She framed it as focusing on the “internal obstacles” women face on the road to the top: the way women are socialized to defer to others, to get every detail exactly right and to be likable at all costs.

Early reaction to the book was positive, but a backlash quickly emerged.

In feminist circles it became decidedly uncool to defend “Lean In.” Today it's something of a shorthand for a certain type of feminism — wealthy, White, capitalist, cisgender and heterosexual. Out of touch. “Girlboss” feminism that basically says, “If you can't beat the patriarchy, join it.”

Some of the criticism was helpful. In particular, it catalyzed a broader conversation about overwork, capitalism and male-centered professional norms. Some academics said the book spurred them to conduct new studies examining Sandberg's claims. In the years following the book's commercial success, I saw more academic journals publishing meaningful research on gender disparities at work.

By speaking up about her own experiences, Sandberg changed the conversation.

After Sandberg's book became a bestseller, other female executives were more willing to talk about their experiences. And just as crucially, publishers were hungry for other books on gender equality. Sandberg had shown there was a market.

Some terrible books got published. And the phenomenon focused too much on White women from elite backgrounds. But as someone who remembers a period of time when these stories either struggled to break through or when women themselves didn't want to talk about their experiences of working while female, it felt exciting to see this conversation take root.

In the years since, several large companies have dramatically expanded parental leave and the federal government started offering paid maternity leave to federal employees. Eight states have now passed laws guaranteeing some form of paid maternity leave. The #MeToo movement blew the doors off a culture of enabling sexual harassers. Feminism became, somewhat weirdly to this child of the 1980s backlash, momentarily trendy; Beyoncé performed in front of a huge sign that said “FEMINIST.”

Sexual harassment still happens in companies, yet we are told the #MeToo movement overreached. It feels trivial to talk about pregnancy parking when women in many states may soon lose the ability to decide whether they want to be pregnant at all. And Sandberg's reputation has taken a beating along with Meta's in the wake of scandals from Cambridge Analytica to the Rohingya massacre to studies that show Instagram hurts young girls' mental health.

I'll be very interested to see where she directs her energies and philanthropy next. It's clear that women and girls are still issues that are close to her heart. They could use her unfettered and unfiltered voice now.