Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg: Company Has a Responsibility to Foster ‘Kindness and Empathy’

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg stated that she believes the company has a responsibility to foster “kindness and empathy.”

Variety reports while that speaking at the Cannes Lions advertising and media conference on Wednesday, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg discussed the aims of Facebook as a company, saying, “we have a responsibility to build things that are good” and that they must promote “kindness and empathy.”

Sandberg continued to say, “that’s why I went to work for a 23-year-old,” referencing Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, “because we shared the same values.”

Much of Sandberg’s rhetoric echoed that of the Facebook manifesto released in February. “We are bringing the world closer together. In a world that has so many challenges… we are still a world of individuals,” said Sandberg.

The Facebook COO discussed the Facebook group Option B, a support group named after Sandberg’s book Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy, which dealt with Sandberg’s journey of coping with her husband’s death. Sandberg cited the Facebook group as an example of Facebook bringing people closer together to deal wth their personal issues.

“There are days when I need that attachment to people… who have been through that themselves,” she said. “Together, we are less alone.”

Discussing issues of gender and racial equality, Sandberg cited her hand in the creation of the Cannes Lions’ Glass Lion award as one of her proudest moments, as the award recognizes advertising that confronts gender inequality or prejudice. Before joining Facebook in 2008, Sandberg acted as Google’s VP of global online sales and operations. Before her time at Google, she served as chief of staff for the U.S. Treasury Department under President Clinton.