From a group chat… “Sheryl Sandberg Talks Paid Family Leave, Community Organizing, and Cambridge Analytica”:
It’s not enough to have the policies, you also have to use them. I’m really proud that Mark [Zuckerberg] took paternity leave. He sets the right example. Our CTO took paternity leave, our chief product officer took paternity leave. One of the most important things we need to fight is the idea that this is a female issue. This is an issue for families and if we want mothers and fathers to be equal parents in the households, we need to start out equal. And that’s why equal paternity leave is so important. We give four months to both [mother and fathers] and we really encourage people to take it. Another thing we found is that flexibility in how you take the policies works. We offer four months over the course of the first year. And that really increases participation, especially amongst men.
Friend’s comment:
Mark Zuckerberg took paternity leave so his stay-at-home wife could continue to provide for the family while he took care of the baby
I wonder if these multi-billionaires actually can set examples for the rest of us. It is nice that Mark Zuckerberg could take some time off while the childless workers at Facebook had to stay at their desks in order to get paychecks so that they could pay the rent, but he could also take the rest of his life off if desired.
Separately, the article gives some insight into the future of politics on Facebook:
Do you still see Facebook as a viable tool for activism?
Sandberg: I think [Facebook is] a critical tool to organize around issues. A bunch of the Parkland March [for Our Lives] was just organized on Facebook. Some of Black Lives Matter was organized on Facebook. Facebook is a critical way that people communicate and we’re really proud of the role Facebook plays in social mobilization. The Women’s March was [born from] a [Facebook] post a woman did. She said, ‘What if people march?’ She woke up the next day and there was a Women’s March. That doesn’t mean there haven’t been things on Facebook that we don’t want to have happen on Facebook—and we’re taking strong steps to correct that—but as an organizing tool for people who are trying to reach communities, it’s huge.
Readers: Do you think that these stratospherically wealthy and powerful Silicon Valley folks can be role models for ordinary schmucks? If Mark Zuckerberg does something, will Joe or Jane Average try to do it too?
Related:
Those “stratospherically wealthy and powerful” are using the Joe and Jane as a front to show that they care. The irony is, Joe and Jane are so occupied with their FB friends on FB to know better. Even worse, they apply emotions and feelings before logic.
I trust Sheryl will tell childless people to take some time out to eat brioche instead, or something equally down to earth.
Too many companies have written policies and unwritten norms that contradict them, as in “you have two weeks of vacation, but if you take them in a single go, you will be fired”. When the CEO sets the example by taking paternity leave, ordinary employees will not fear as much repercussions from doing the same.
A better comparison would be Google, where they had a decent daycare benefit. Then Susan Wojcicki decided it was not good enough and turned it into a luxury only a handful of executives could afford:
http://gawker.com/5016355/google-daycare-now-a-luxury-for-larry-and-sergeys-inner-circle
I think many, many wealthy SV folks are often wrong, but never in doubt. Their out-sized wealth/power gives them a divine right of kings mentality – so they’re more an enforcer than a role model.
These multi-billionaires or even multi-millionaires are so far removed from society there is no way they can understand how a regular person or family functions. Even if they came from modest means, a couple of years of living at that level will remove you so far that you will not remember or care about where you came from. These multi-billionaires pretending that they care is really a big joke. Next time I hear that Bill Gates cares about some African village or Sandberg cares about families, I am going to puke. Gen-pop (upper middle class and lower) on this planet does not classify as a part of the human species to them, we are just slaves that will be replaced by robots.
Did anyone ask Sheryl why she was so excited about helping the Farrakhan directed Women’s March?
A co-worker at a Fortune 100 giant requested a month off for a vacation to Europe. His manager replied “if you we can get along without you for a month, then we really don’t need you at all”. He took 2 weeks instead.
Fazal: The idea that “the CEO sets the example” doesn’t make sense in this case. Mark Zuckerberg does not compete with anyone for his job of billionaire founder and controlling shareholder. He can take 10 years off and come back to the same job. A worker drone at Facebook, on the other hand, may need to worry about a competitor getting a promotion while the drone is off on the four-month paid holiday with the infant (sleeping 14-16 hours/day, like a vesting-in-peace Google employee!).
Big story in the NY Times today on how Facebook is the perfect tool in 3rd world countries for triggering pogroms against local minorities. In the old days, these would have to spread by word of mouth (“the Jews are poisoning our wells”) but now it’s done all high-tech on Facebook.