From Business Insider · Julia Pugachevsky · · 1m 30s
Sheryl Sandberg on Women Leaning Out
Women are leaving leadership roles due to lack of support, not lack of ambition, says Sandberg.
In brief
Women are leaving leadership roles due to lack of support, not lack of ambition, says Sandberg. Sheryl Sandberg says women are stepping back from leadership because they feel unsupported, not due to lack of ambition. Originally reported by Business Insider.
Sheryl Sandberg's concern
Sheryl Sandberg, Meta's former COO, says more women are leaning out than losing ambition.
“This is not the women who are saying, 'I don't want to do it'”
2026 leadership gap
Lean In's 2026 report shows women have equal career motivation but less promotion desire than men.
“This is not the women who are saying, 'I don't want to do it'”
25% women cite personal obligations
25% of women who don't want promotions say personal obligations, versus 15% of men.
“25% of the women who didn't want to advance cited 'personal obligations'”
Household labor gap
Women do more household labor and childcare, especially in the sandwich generation.
“We know women do more of the housework at home”
Maternity leave challenges
Women with short maternity leaves face higher childcare costs and less flexible schedules.
“For women facing short (or nonexistent) maternity leaves, inflexible schedules, and paychecks that pale in comparison to daycare costs”
Sandberg's solution
Sandberg says companies with more women leaders have better performance and work-life balance.
“We know when companies have more women in leadership, performance is better”
2025 study findings
Adding a woman to a US company board increased female employment and earnings by 1-2%.
“One 2025 working paper from the IZA Institute of Labor Economics in Germany studied how gender diversity impacted retention in US companies using US Census data”
Ambition gap closes
The ambition gap disappears when women believe companies want them in senior leadership.
“What's really interesting is that the ambition gap in our data collapses when women believe companies really want them in senior leadership”
Sandberg's personal story
Sandberg pushed for pregnancy parking at Google and egg freezing coverage at Meta.
“You kind of need a pregnant woman to think of that in order for that to happen”
Sandberg's advice
Sandberg recommends better parental leave, flexible schedules, and open communication with women.
“Let's not find cultural reasons to give better opportunities to men than women”
Sandberg's support
Sandberg supports women's choices to leave leadership for family, education, or business.
“I think being at home with your children is great”
In short
Sheryl Sandberg says women are stepping back from leadership because they feel unsupported, not due to lack of ambition.
:quality(85):upscale()/2026/10/14/804/n/1922564/8763d39b6acfc7781e3948.32564939_.png)
