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Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Sheryl Sandberg Takes Her Message to Wall Street

Sheryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Facebook, is heading to Wall Street with her message about women in the workplace.

Ms. Sandberg, whose book “Lean In” is scheduled to be published on Monday, is visiting three big banks and a consulting firm this week for private events with women to discuss the ideas in her book. The events in New York, which are closed to the general public, will kick off Ms. Sandberg’s book tour on the East Coast.

On Thursday, Ms. Sandberg will visit Goldman Sachs for an afternoon conference, according to three people with knowledge of the event who were not authorized to speak publicly about it. All of the women in Goldman’s offices are invited. The same day, Ms. Sandberg also has a meeting about her book at Morgan Stanley, according to two people familiar with the matter.

On Friday morning, Ms. Sandberg is headed to JPMorgan Chase for an event with women at the bank and JPMorgan clients, according to Jennifer Zuccarelli, a JPMorgan spokeswoman. That event is hosted by Mary Callahan Erdoes, head of the asset management division; James B. Lee Jr., vice chairman of the bank; and Jamie Dimon, the chief executive.

Also on Friday, Ms. Sandberg has a meeting! at Accenture, the consulting firm, according to a person familiar with the matter. (Friday happens to be International Women’s Day.)

As it happens, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan were the lead banks handling Facebook’s initial public offering last May, a deal that was widely criticized as the social network’s stock fell in the following months. While investors lately have been warming up to Facebook, the stock is still trading well below its initial offering price.

The events come as Ms. Sandberg prepares to spread her message to a broader audience. The Web site for her book, leanin.org, went live on Wednesday.

Through groups known as “Lean In Circles,” Ms. Sandberg hopes to start a national discussion about gender and encourage women o try certain strategies for professional success, The New York Times’s Jodi Kantor reported.

Wall Street, of course, is notorious for being a male-dominated culture. While women have made some progress in recent decades, they still make up a small percentage of the top positions.

“By talking openly about the challenges that we all face in the workplace and at home, we can work towards solutions together,” Ms. Sandberg says in a post on the book’s Web site.

After the private meetings this week, Ms. Sandberg has some public events on her calendar.

On Tuesday, she’s visiting the Barnes & Noble at Union Square in Manhattan for an e! vent with! Chelsea Clinton. On March 14, she heads to the Sixth and I Historic Synagogue in Washington.

Ms. Sandberg is also speaking at Harvard Business School on April 5 for an event celebrating the 50th anniversary of women being admitted to the M.B.A. program. Later that day, she is expected scheduled to speak at Colgate University‘s entrepreneur weekend.