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OUTSIDE Silicon Valley, few people would have recognised David Goldberg’s name. But millions read about him in “Lean In”, a popular book about how women can do better in the workplace. It was written by his wife, Sheryl Sandberg, the number-two executive at Facebook.

Ms Sandberg writes that the most important career choice a woman makes is whom she marries. A supportive spouse can help you excel; a jealous or lazy one may hold you back. Mr Goldberg, who died on May 1st, was one of the former. He gave his own stellar career (digital-music entrepreneur, Yahoo executive) lower priority than his wife’s even more stellar one. He left a job in Los Angeles to be in the Bay Area, where Ms Sandberg was a rising star at Google. He ran SurveyMonkey, an online-polling firm. When Ms Sandberg was offered a job at Facebook in 2008, he coached her to negotiate for a better pay package.

When their first child was born Ms Sandberg had hurt her leg and was on crutches, so Mr Goldberg took charge of the baby for the first week. He and his wife made an effort to be home early for dinner; both of them would continue working after the children had gone to bed. When a friend boasted he had been playing football when his wife gave birth (some men in the Valley are rather hands-off), Mr Goldberg scolded him for his inattentiveness.

It is hardly unusual for a billionaire to have a supportive spouse. Rich men have had them for generations. It is easier to succeed in the first place if you are part of a team, and the super-wealthy do not have to put up with unsupportive mates—they can always find another.

Nonetheless, people saw the Sandberg/Goldberg household as a model of modern feminism. Female superstars are still rare in Silicon Valley, and macho behaviour is still common. Mr Goldberg was often asked how he felt about living in his wife’s shadow; he made it clear that he was delighted by her success.

He died after collapsing on a treadmill while on holiday in Mexico. He was 47.

SOURCE

http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21650535-feminist-icon-tech-world-first-man-silicon-valley