Two of the most powerful, influential Jewish women in the public eye finally sat down together and talked about women in the workplace, motherhood, and being badass. Yes, that means Lena Dunham finally interviewed Sheryl Sandberg for Lenny.
Dunham cites Sandberg as an influence, as a woman who makes her realize it’s OK to allow herself to think of herself as an asset–not indebted to others. Dunham described how she was excited to interview Sandberg, who has been busy with her latest project, Together Women Can. Sandberg’s new campaign encourages women to be allies and mentors to each other in the workplace. Umm, can we get a “hell yeah?”
Part of Sandberg’s aim with the campaign is to break down the stereotype that women don’t support each other–she explained how the campaign is meant to empower women to help each other–and themselves, stating:
She went on to say, however, that being a boss lady doesn’t mean you stop feeling insecure or self conscious. She opened up about her own struggles with her self-confidence in the work place, adding:
“I do still struggle with my self-confidence, whereas my male colleagues’ self-confidence never seems shaken by people disagreeing with them. And I do always want to be liked, even when I know it is not possible for everyone to agree with me all of the time and I need to make hard decisions.”
When it comes to single parenting, Sandberg (who recently admitted she was wrong about a few things in “Lean In”) made a point to say that moms need to ask for help more, that it’s OK to ask for help–because asking for help makes you more successful:
“I’m a very lucky single mother, and I’ve spoken out about this. Many single mothers struggle to make ends meet. Being a single parent is hard and means looking for support in other places. I’m walking and working because of people like you, my friends, holding me up. I have a Lean In Circle of my childhood friends who have helped me get through this difficult point in my life.
When you look at successful women, they have other women who have supported them, and they’ve gotten to where they are because of those women.”
So, who does Sandberg, an ultra successful woman, cite as her influence? Her own bubbe:
“My grandmother. She grew up poor and her parents divorced, which was unheard of during that time. She ended up graduating from Berkeley and was the first generation to go to college. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in her 30s and starting raising money for breast-cancer screenings for other women. She literally drove around selling watches out of her car to raise money. When my grandfather’s business was about to go under, she took over the business and saved it.”
Bubbes are pretty much everyone’s favorite. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the interview here.
Read More:
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Sheryl Sandberg Discusses Women’s Silence in the Workplace
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