Sheryl Sandberg, author of the bestselling Lean In books, has taken a softer stance on leaning in.
The Facebook Chief Operating Officer penned an essay for Mother’s Day dedicated to how difficult life is for single mothers. Sandberg became a widow last year and the experience has changed her perspective on what it means to lean in. “Before, I did not quite get it,” she writes. “I did not really get how hard it is to succeed at work when you are overwhelmed at home.” Here is an excerpt from the piece:
In Lean In, I emphasized how critical a loving and supportive partner can be for women both professionally and personally—and how important Dave was to my career and to our children’s development. I still believe this. Some people felt that I did not spend enough time writing about the difficulties women face when they have an unsupportive partner or no partner at all. They were right.
Sandberg went on to point out some sobering statistics on single parenthood: 40 percent of families headed by a single mother in the United States live in poverty, 35 percent of single mothers experience food insecurity and 46 percent of families headed by black and Hispanic single mothers live in poverty. Sandberg ended the piece asking readers to rethink public and corporate workforce policies and encouraging a more open society when it comes to supporting families of all shapes and sizes.