Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg in a post Tuesday afternoon lauded Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) being picked as presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s running-mate just hours earlier.
Harris is the first Black woman and first Asian American person to be a vice presidential candidate in American history.
“This is a huge moment for Black women and girls all over the world – and for all of us,” Sandberg, who was the first woman to sit on Facebook’s board, wrote. “For the first time, we’ll see a Black woman on the ticket for the highest office in the land. In a world where there are still far too few Black women leaders in our companies and government, that really matters – because you can’t be what you can’t see.”
She added: “Black women candidates face double discrimination on the campaign trail, including criticisms of being ‘too ambitious’ or ‘out for herself.’ There’s no denying that Kamala Harris is ambitious – and that’s something we should be celebrating. Today, I am hopeful that many more Black women and girls will be inspired to run for office at every level.”
The former vice president’s rumored shortlist included several other women of color, including Reps. Val Demings (D-Fla.) and Karen Bass (D-Calif.), former national security adviser Susan Rice, former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams and Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.).
In a statement, Biden cited Harris’s “record of accomplishment” as to why he chose her.
“There is no door Kamala won’t knock on, no stone she’ll leave unturned, if it means making life better — for the people,” Biden said. “She will wake up every day — like I will — thinking about how to make life better for people. How to rebuild our country back better. How to make it more just. How to win the next fight in the battle for the soul of this nation.”