#MeToo fallout: Sheryl Sandberg is all for group lunches, and she has a reason

By Shannon Tellis

For those struggling to figure out how men and women should interact post #MeToo, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg has some words of wisdom: “Group lunches for everyone.”

According to a survey by Sandberg’s Foundation, Lean In, almost half of the male managers in the United States today are afraid of doing common business activities like having dinner or taking a meeting alone with a woman. They are also five times more likely to hesitate to travel alone with a junior female colleague.



According to Sandberg, this is problematic because a lot of the mentorship required to put more women in the C-suite happens when colleagues are in rooms alone. “(Post #MeToo) People need to be able to figure out what they’re comfortable with and make access equal. If you are not comfortable as a senior male leader having dinner with female colleagues alone, don’t have dinner with male colleagues alone either,” said Sandberg, commenting on survey findings at a ‘Women in the Workplace’ dinner.

“It’s not enough to not harass women. We need to make sure we’re not ignoring them either,” she said.