Facebook’s Sandberg visits Congress

Facebook Chief Operating Officer and well-known author Sheryl Sandberg visited Capitol Hill on Tuesday, meeting with lawmakers from both parties.

“Sheryl is in Washington meeting with policymakers to update them on Facebook’s work and to discuss how technology can continue to boost economic growth and create jobs in America,” a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement. “She’s hoping to discuss a variety of issues important to our company including diversity, immigration, patent reform, and net neutrality, among others.”

{mosads}A person familiar with her visit said that she had met with lawmakers from both Houses and parties, with a focus on meeting with female legislators.

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), a member of leadership and the chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, said on Twitter he had met with Sandberg. So did Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), who said her meeting had included Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.).

In addition to her role at Facebook, Sandberg is an advocate for gender parity in Silicon Valley. She is the author of the 2013 book Lean In, which details parts of her own background and discusses ways to bring more women into leadership roles in society.

The book helped make Sandberg a noted voice on feminism inside and outside of technology.

That role has sometimes manifested itself at Facebook. Earlier this year, the company said that employees of contractors who do a “substantial amount of work” for Facebook would be entitled to a “new child benefit” if their employer did not offer paid parental leave.