As Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer and a prominent advocate for working women, Sheryl Sandberg’s stamp of approval is worth its weight in gold.
Such as last week, when Sandberg spoke gushingly in a Facebook post about a new Nike ad featuring some of India’s fiercest, baddest women in sports.
Called “Da Da Ding,” the video shows top female athletes training and competing fiercely as a tribute of sorts to the women who fight to carve a space for themselves in India’s male-dominated sporting world — much like Sandberg has done herself in the bro-centric tech industry.
She also wrote in her post about the story behind the ad: Deepika Padukone, an actress and one of the featured athletes, shared how sports saw her through some of the darkest days of her life. “Two years ago, I struggled with depression. I almost gave up. But it was the athlete in me that gave me the strength to fight.” Today she remembers an old lesson her father taught her: “To be the best, always remember the three Ds: discipline, dedication, and determination.”
Despite hefty economic growth in the past few decades, India still lags behind when it comes to gender equality. In education, politics, economic activity and healthcare, Indian women are still at a huge disadvantage compared to their male counterparts — not to mention the societal attitudes that still consider female empowerment a threat to traditional gender roles.
Although Nike typically highlights the achievements of some of the world’s most superhuman-esque athletes, their pivot in this video to lesser-known sportswomen from other countries is wholly welcome — and it seems Sandberg agrees, too.
source: A PLUS.com
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