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Shattering The Glass Ceiling: 30 Blunt Quotes From Former Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg Technology leader. Philanthropist. Author. These are just some of the epithets that Sheryl Sandberg is known by.

By Kabir Singh Bhandari

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Sheryl Sandberg

Technology leader. Philanthropist. Author. These are just some of the epithets that Sheryl Sandberg is known by. But for the ones who know about her, she is much more than just that. Sandberg came into prominence when she was serving as the chief operating officer (COO) of Meta Platforms from 2008, from which she had stepped down in August 2022. Heading the company's advertising business, she was responsible for the company's soaring profits. Before her memorable stint at Facebook, Sandberg was vice president of global online sales and operations at Google. A frontrunner for women's rights, Sandberg turns 54 today.

A mother to two children, she put in her life's experiences into the bestseller book 'Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead'. Fighting for women's rights, inspiring them to enjoy both a career and a family life, here are 30 amazing quotes from her book about women, life and business.

"In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders."

"Women need to shift from thinking "I'm not ready to do that" to thinking "I want to do that- and I'll learn by doing it."

"There's a special place in hell for women who don't help other women."

"Success and likeability are positively correlated for men and negatively for women. When a man is successful, he is liked by both men and women. When a woman is successful, people of both genders like her less."

"She explained that many people, but especially women, feel fraudulent when they are praised for their accomplishments. Instead of feeling worthy of recognition, they feel undeserving and guilty, as if a mistake has been made. Despite being high achievers, even experts in their fields, women can't seem to shake the sense that it is only a matter of time until they are found out for who they really are- impostors with limited skills or abilities."

"I have never met a woman, or man, who stated emphatically, "Yes, I have it all.'" Because no matter what any of us has—and how grateful we are for what we have—no one has it all."

"I have never met a woman, or man, who stated emphatically, "Yes, I have it all.'" Because no matter what any of us has—and how grateful we are for what we have—no one has it all."

"When woman work outside the home and share breadwinning duties, couples are more likely to stay together. In fact, the risk of divorce reduces by about half when a wife earns half the income and a husband does half the housework."

"I realized that searching for a mentor has become the professional equivalent of waiting for Prince Charming. We all grew up on the fairy tale "Sleeping Beauty," which instructs young women that if they just wait for their prince to arrive, they will be kissed and whisked away on a white horse to live happily ever after. Now young women are told that if they can just find the right mentor, they will be pushed up the ladder and whisked away to the corner office to live happily ever after. Once again, we are teaching women to be too dependent on others."

"We must raise both the ceiling and the floor."

"When looking for a life partner, my advice to women is date all of them: the bad boys, the cool boys, the commitment-phobic boys, the crazy boys. But do not marry them. The things that make the bad boys sexy do not make them good husbands. When it comes time to settle down, find someone who wants an equal partner. Someone who thinks women should be smart, opinionated and ambitious. Someone who values fairness and expects or, even better, wants to do his share in the home. These men exist and, trust me, over time, nothing is sexier."

"In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders."

"We cannot change what we are not aware of, and once we are aware, we cannot help but change."

"Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence."

"Women need to shift from thinking "I'm not ready to do that" to thinking "I want to do that- and I'll learn by doing it."

"There is no perfect fit when you're looking for the next big thing to do. You have to take opportunities and make an opportunity fit for you, rather than the other way around. The ability to learn is the most important quality a leader can have."

"There's a special place in hell for women who don't help other women."

"Success and likeability are positively correlated for men and negatively for women. When a man is successful, he is liked by both men and women. When a woman is successful, people of both genders like her less."

"She explained that many people, but especially women, feel fraudulent when they are praised for their accomplishments. Instead of feeling worthy of recognition, they feel undeserving and guilty, as if a mistake has been made. Despite being high achievers, even experts in their fields, women can't seem to shake the sense that it is only a matter of time until they are found out for who they really are- impostors with limited skills or abilities."

"I have never met a woman, or man, who stated emphatically, "Yes, I have it all.'" Because no matter what any of us has—and how grateful we are for what we have—no one has it all."

"When women work outside the home and share breadwinning duties, couples are more likely to stay together. In fact, the risk of divorce reduces by about half when a wife earns half the income and a husband does half the housework."

"I realized that searching for a mentor has become the professional equivalent of waiting for Prince Charming. We all grew up on the fairy tale "Sleeping Beauty," which instructs young women that if they just wait for their prince to arrive, they will be kissed and whisked away on a white horse to live happily ever after. Now young women are told that if they can just find the right mentor, they will be pushed up the ladder and whisked away to the corner office to live happily ever after. Once again, we are teaching women to be too dependent on others."

"When looking for a life partner, my advice to women is date all of them: the bad boys, the cool boys, the commitment-phobic boys, the crazy boys. But do not marry them. The things that make the bad boys sexy do not make them good husbands. When it comes time to settle down, find someone who wants an equal partner. Someone who thinks women should be smart, opinionated and ambitious. Someone who values fairness and expects or, even better, wants to do his share in the home. These men exist and, trust me, over time, nothing is sexier."

"We must raise both the ceiling and the floor."

"A truly equal world would be one where women ran half our countries and companies and men ran half our homes."

"we compromise our career goals to make room for partners and children who may not even exist yet"

"Real change will come when powerful women are less of an exception. It is easy to dislike senior women because there are so few."

"The gender stereotypes introduced in childhood are reinforced throughout our lives and become self-fulfilling prophesies. Most leadership positions are held by men, so women don't expect to achieve them, and that becomes one of the reasons they don't."

"Aggressive and hard-charging women violate unwritten rules about acceptable social conduct. Men are continually applauded for being ambitious and powerful and successful, but women who display these same traits often pay a social penalty. Female accomplishments come at a cost."

"Our culture needs to find a robust image of female success that is first, not male, and second, not a white woman on the phone, holding a crying baby,"

"The more women help one another, the more we help ourselves. Acting like a coalition truly does produce results."

Kabir Singh Bhandari

Former Senior Assistant Editor

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