According to CNBC, former Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg warned the corporate climate for women is now “one of the worst” she’s seen in her career. Her comments come amid what she calls damaging “tech bro” rhetoric and as half of companies have reportedly stopped prioritizing women’s career advancement. The new Women in the Workplace report, now in its 11th year, reveals a new “ambition gap” and that young men are 50% more likely than women to get manager support to use AI at work. Sandberg, founder of LeanIn.org, cited McKinsey data showing top-quartile gender-diverse executive teams are 15% more likely to see above-average profitability. She made these statements on the CNBC Changemakers podcast, also arguing for federal AI regulation to avoid a detrimental state-by-state patchwork.
Sandberg’s stark warning
Here’s the thing: when Sheryl Sandberg, the architect of Meta’s operational machine for over a decade, says the environment is “terrible,” you listen. But it’s not just a feeling. She’s pointing to concrete backsliding, like companies axing DEI initiatives and leaders like Mark Zuckerberg publicly pining for more “masculine energy” in corporate culture. That rhetoric, she argues, matters. It signals what’s valued. And when combined with the data showing companies are simply giving up on advancing women, you get this massive ambition gap. The report’s key finding is crucial, though: the gap disappears when women get the same opportunities as men. So it’s not that women are suddenly less driven. They’re just pragmatic. If you don’t see a path forward, why would you kill yourself for a company that isn’t rooting for you?
The AI divide is already here
This is where it gets scary. We’re at the very beginning of the AI revolution in the workplace, and we’re already replicating the same old biases. Men are 50% more likely to get support from their managers to use AI tools? That’s a crazy head start. Sandberg is right to flag this as an emergency. Basically, we’re building the next tier of essential workplace skills, and we’re letting half the workforce fall behind on day one. The people who know how to wield these tools will have a massive advantage. It makes the case for having women like OpenAI’s Fidji Simo in leadership roles even stronger—not just as a token, but to steer product development and resource allocation so these gaps don’t become canyons.
The profit paradox and leadership
Sandberg’s argument here is smart because it speaks directly to the C-suite in their own language: money. She cites the McKinsey data on profitability. You can be “hard core” about efficiency and still be supportive. In fact, you *need* to be supportive to get those results. The idea that empathy and drive are gendered traits is, frankly, outdated. The best leaders blend both. So when a company leans into a hyper-“masculine” culture, they’re not being tough and profitable; they’re being simplistic and probably leaving money on the table by not fully developing half their talent.
Regulation and the path ahead
Her call for federal AI regulation is interesting, especially coming from a Meta alum. Social media platforms enjoyed a long “move fast and break things” period with light oversight. She seems to be saying we can’t afford that with AI. A patchwork of 50 different state laws would be a nightmare for development. But she also nails the core problem: getting regulation that actually understands the technology. It’s a huge challenge. The executive order for a single national standard is a win for tech companies who want clarity, but the real test is what that standard contains. Can it be robust enough to manage risk without stifling the innovation that, managed correctly, could actually help solve some of these very problems? That’s the trillion-dollar question.
