The College Fix

Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook with an estimated net worth of more than $1 billion, has fashioned herself into perhaps the world’s most improbable spokesperson on the issue of women’s oppression in the workplace.

Since publishing her book Lean In: women, work, and the will to lead, Sandberg has been busy on the speaking circuit, ironically teaching other women how to overcome the same socioeconomic system that made her unimaginably powerful and rich.

Last week, for example, during a speech at historically black Howard University, Sandberg drew a parallel between the African-American civil rights movement and her own efforts to shatter the glass ceiling: “Men still rule the world and up until a few years ago, white men still ruled the world,” she said.

These are strange words to hear from a woman so accomplished. In reality, statistics reveal that men are falling behind in nearly every category of educational achievement. Men are also struggling to adjust to the new information economy. Manufacturing jobs are disappearing overseas and robots populate more and more assembly lines. Meanwhile, everywhere you turn, the Amazons are loudly celebrating “The End of Men.”

Someone should introduce Sheryl Sandberg, the gender theorist, to Sheryl Sandberg, the dot com billionaire–I don’t think they have met. Sandberg seems unaware of how completely her success in life refutes her message of victimhood.

In her book she says sharing emotions is a good way to “build deeper relationships,” and she even confesses to having once cried on the shoulder of Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Consider what an exceptional white male Zuckerberg must be–to extend such an intimate gesture of friendship toward one over whom he “rules.”

Sandberg looks out at the world that has sustained her success and sees a world that seeks to victimize her–like a fish who complains about being wet all the time.

Sandberg is full of contradictions. In the past, she has also advised women about the dangers of the maternal instinct. Specifically, she claims there is an inverse relationship between confidence in the boardroom and maternal thoughts. “The moment a woman starts thinking about having a child, she doesn’t raise her hand any more,” she said.

As you might have guessed, Sandberg is the mother of two children.

Nathan Harden is editor of The College Fix and author of the book SEX & GOD AT YALE: Porn, Political Correctness, and a Good Education Gone Bad.

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