Start paying women well: Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg says both public policy and corporate policy are required to close gender pay gap.
In a recent radio show, Facebook’s chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, emphasised on the need for governments and corporates to diligently work towards closing the gender pay gap. Sandberg is of the view that a change in perceptions and attitudes, such that both boys and girls are encouraged to become leaders from an early age, is a must.
“We need to start paying women well and we need the public policy and the corporate policy to get there,” she said during the radio show. With “women applying for jobs at the same rate as men”, and “running for office at the same rate as men”, Sandberg believes that it is all the more important that authorities realise it’s time to improve the way women are paid.
She mentioned how from a very early age, people start telling girls it’s not too important to lead while boys, on the other hand, are always pushed to lead. “That is a mistake,” she said.
Looking back at her Harvard days, Sandberg shared how she herself fought self-doubt and realised that women underestimated their own worth, much more than men, which is why most women hesitate to ask for a pay rise.
“I believe everyone has inside them the ability to lead and we should let people choose that, not based on gender but on who they are and who they want to be,” Sandberg opined.
Author of the famous 2013 book Lean In and one of the most sought-after Silicon Valley executives, Sandberg felt that both government and corporate policies together could bring about an effective change.