Facebook’s COO: Women lack the self-confidence to be leaders

Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg’s new book about women and work, “Lean In,” has already made a big splash.

The thesis of the book is essentially this: Women don’t occupy as many executive positions as they could because they hold themselves back. They prefer to be liked rather than powerful.

“As a man gets more successful, he is better liked by men and women, and as a woman gets more successful, she is less liked by men and women,” Sandberg told NPR. “But I want to be clear: I am not saying that men are too self-confident. That’s not the problem. The problem is that women aren’t self-confident enough.”

Ragan.com asked women who hold executive positions at PR and communications firms whether they think Sandberg’s assertions are well-founded.

Are PR and communications different?