Raised eyebrows as Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg's job equality foundation advertises for unpaid intern
Eyebrows have been raised after an unpaid internship position was posted on the social networking site for Facebook billionaire Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In foundation – set up to combat job inequalities between men and women – the day after she sold $91m worth of Facebook shares.
Criticism: Billionaire Sandberg, above, and Facebook posts, below
The job ad – looking for a part time, unpaid “editorial intern” with “design and web skills a plus” - was posted by the foundation’s Jessica Bennett on Tuesday and quickly met with some angry responses from Facebook posters.
The foundation “encourages women to pursue their ambitions” and Sandberg recently wrote a book on the subject, Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead. The day before the ad was posted, Facebook COO Sandberg sold 2.4 million shares in Facebook worth $91m (£51m).
Facebook poster Beth Boston Gearhart said: “Lean In for free! Shameful. Sorry, Ms. Sandberg can afford to pay someone!!”
Lisette Holmes added: “Lean Out more like it, I’d be walking right away from any deal that gets me to provide my skills to your requirements for nil recompense. Exploitation…”
Naomi R. Dickey said: “You want an intern to do exactly the opposite of what Lean In advises and work for free? Shameful. I’m about to make a public statement recanting my push for friends to read the book. SHAMEFUL. This is a joke, right?”
Bennett followed the ad up the next day, after it had received nearly 300 comments, claiming that the posting was “NOT an official Lean In job posting” but rather a post on her own feed “looking for a volunteer to help me in New York”, before urging her followers to take a deep breath. Bennett added that “LOTS” of non-profits accept volunteers.
In April, Sandberg was revealed as the highest-paid executive at Facebook for the second year running after taking home $26.2m (£16.9m) in 2012.
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