--- title: Sheryl Sandberg Says Women Aren't Better Off After Lean In description: Sandberg also reflected on criticisms of the "Lean In' philosophy canonical: https://time.com/4718126/sheryl-sandberg-lean-in/ author: Zamira Rahim article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-03-30T12:26:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:05:18.368Z og:title: Sheryl Sandberg Says Women Aren’t Better Off 4 Years After 'Lean In' og:description: The Facebook COO also reflected on criticisms of the book og:url: https://time.com/4718126/sheryl-sandberg-lean-in/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt159f2430ef2b6bb5/6988c093656a3f2948bcf55f/gettyimages-634190554.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2250 og:image:alt: Interviews On The Sidelines Of The 2017 Makers Conference og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Sheryl Sandberg Says Women Aren’t Better Off 4 Years After 'Lean In' twitter:description: The Facebook COO also reflected on criticisms of the book twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt159f2430ef2b6bb5/6988c093656a3f2948bcf55f/gettyimages-634190554.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Sheryl Sandberg Says Women Aren’t Better Off 4 Years After 'Lean In' > Sponsored content. 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It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-worth-2026q3/newsletters?i=8e3f66ba-cde9-4a26-831c-d10d66413563&cr=time-nl-worth-2026q3-v1) by [Zamira Rahim](https://time.com/author/zamira-rahim/) ## Zamira Rahim Mar 30, 2017 12:26 PM UTC  Sheryl Sandberg, billionaire and chief operating officer of Facebook Inc., participates in a panel discussion during the 2017 MAKERS Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, U.S., on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. Sheryl Sandberg, billionaire and chief operating officer of Facebook Inc., participates in a panel discussion during the 2017 MAKERS Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, U.S., on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. Patrick T. Fallon—Bloomberg — Getty Images by [Zamira Rahim](https://time.com/author/zamira-rahim/) ## Zamira Rahim Mar 30, 2017 12:26 PM UTC [Sheryl Sandberg,](http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2017/03/29/sheryl-sandberg-interview-lean-in-four-years-later/99749464/?platform=hootsuite) Facebook’s [chief operating officer](http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,20130318,00.html), said in a new interview that women in leadership roles are “not better off” in the four years since her bestselling book [“Lean In”](http://ideas.time.com/2013/03/07/confidence-woman/) was published. Sandberg’s book was aimed at professional women and began a discussion on sexism and workplace success. In an interview with [_USA Today_](http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2017/03/29/sheryl-sandberg-interview-lean-in-four-years-later/99749464/?platform=hootsuite), Sandberg pointed out that the number of female CEOs of Fortune 500 companies is still less than 6%. “There were 19 countries run by women when ‘Lean In’ was published. Today there are 11,” Sandberg said. The Facebook executive was a prominent supporter of Hillary Clinton’s unsuccessful presidential campaign and said she was was “really disappointed that my children did not see a woman sworn in as president”. “Lean In” has been much criticized at times for its focus on educated, professional women over women who are less wealthy. Sandberg talked in the interview of the struggles faced by single mothers, including black and Latina ones. “I have thought a lot about what it is to be a single mother because now I am one,” she said. 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