Norah O’Donnell profiles one of America’s most successful women, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, as she tries to reignite a feminist revolution on “60 Minutes” Sunday at 7 p.m. on CBS 6.
(CBS News) — Few women can match Sheryl Sandberg’s achievements and she wants to change that. The successful chief operating officer of Facebook says the women’s revolution has stalled and it’s up to women to jump start it.
The 43-year-old old business leader talks to CBS News’ Norah O’Donnell in an interview to be broadcast on 60 MINUTES on Sunday at 7 p.m. on CBS 6.
The former Google executive, hired in 2008 to unlock Facebook’s vast and virtually untapped advertising potential, spoke with O’Donnell at the company’s headquarters in Menlo Park Calif.
“I think we are stalled and I think we need to acknowledge we’re stalled so that we can change it,” says Sandberg.
She says despite women earning more college degrees than men, they still only occupy 14 percent of America’s top corporate jobs, a percentage relatively unchanged for 10 years.
What’s causing it? Sandberg says it’s women themselves who don’t think they can do it all.
“So they start quietly leaning back. They say ‘Oh, I’m busy. I want to have a child one day. I couldn’t possibly…take on more.’ Or ‘I’m still learning on my current job.’ I’ve never had a man say that stuff to me,” says Sandberg. It’s this attitude that’s kept women from getting past that 14 percent she says.
Pressed by O’Donnell that she sounds like she’s blaming women, Sandberg replies, “My message is not one of blaming women. There is an awful lot we don’t control,” she tells O’Donnell. “There is an awful lot we can control and we can do for ourselves to sit at more tables, raise more hands.”
One critical thing a woman can control is the choice of a life partner, says Sandberg, because husbands or partners who share family chores equally can make a big difference.
“You cannot have a full career and a full life at home with your children if you are also doing all the housework and child care.”
Sandberg realizes how this sounds coming from a person as wealthy as she is.
“I am not saying that everyone has the resources or opportunities I have. I’m not saying that everyone’s husband is going to wake up tomorrow, read a book and start doing his share,” she tells O’Donnell. “I am saying that we need to help women own the power they have, learn how to negotiate for raises, get the pay they deserve.”
O’Donnell also conducts a joint interview with Sandberg and her husband, Internet entrepreneur Dave Goldberg, in the couple’s California home.
