The glass ceiling metaphor is too abstract because it makes an underhanded claim to universality. "A glass ceiling for women in tech" is too vague and doesn't advance the discussion.
As for glass ceiling metaphor, why don't you ask Sandberg what she's referring to. I was just referencing what she said "She opposes all forms of affirmative action for women. “If you don’t believe there is a glass ceiling, there is no need,” she told me."
Oh and as for specifics about being propped up and sponsored by men I'd point to things like this "In January of 1991, Summers became the chief economist at the World Bank, and that spring he recruited Sandberg as a research assistant." I don't care how smart or good you are, without certain connections you're not going to get a research associateship at the world bank.
TIL The current FB COO worked as a research assistant at the World Bank.
Sometimes I want to blame my parents for being just a pair of middle-aged farmers in an Eastern-European country, when they could have had guys like Summers as their friend and a mansion in Hamptons if they had worked hard enough.</sarcasm>
If it were some sort of nepotism then you might have a point, but since it's not it really just shows the opposite of what you suggest. It shows that women are able to improve their own station in exactly the same way men do. And had it been nepotism, it would show nothing more than women can do it the other way men do it as well.
Can most women do this to the degree she has? No. Just like most men can't.
Anyway, let me attempt to convey my general point again: The way I see it there are exactly 2 basic ways advancing. Nepotism, and combinations of luck/hardwork/getting noticed.
I don't know anyone who suggests that there is a glass ceiling preventing women from taking advantage of nepotism. Rather, every explanation of the glass ceiling theory that I have had presented to me boils down to in some way: luck/hardwork/getting noticed doesn't work for women.
Sandberg worked hard, got noticed, and arguably got a little lucky. Bypassing the glass ceiling would be to utilize nepotism but she went clear through it.
Perhaps it does exist, but Sandberg shows it's certainly not impermeable.
edit: s/wall/ceiling/
As I think about it a bit more, I disagree. Luck/hard work/getting noticed by definition really isn't about anything other than merit and luck, so if a glass ceiling exists it has to be related to nepotism.
What about family businesses being taken over more often by sons than daughters? Parents using connections to find their son a job, and find their daughter a husband?
How is this a gendered issue at all?
Men are also forced to choose between non-career activities and giving their all to their career. Men who choose non-career activities rarely become COO of a $50B company.
Women who aren't mentored by the best of the best and don't have parents who are PhD (dropouts) and Ophthalmologists.
The number of women who have parents who are PhD (dropouts) and Ophthalmologists is equal (within some statistical margin of error) to the number of men who have similarly situated parents.
If she didn't want to do this, she could have freely chosen to a) not have children or b) have children with an unambitious man willing to become a full time parent.
If you want to argue that women are somehow "defective" because they prefer children to careers, be my guest. But it is dishonest to call it a glass ceiling - that phrase usually implies it's something inflicted on her by other people.