Speaking candidly at a college town hall event streamed via Facebook Live, Facebook CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg said that the birth of his one-year-old daughter changed the way he runs his business.
"Having kids does change how you think about the world in a pretty dramatic way," Zuckerberg told students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University on Monday.
Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan, a pediatrician and philanthropist, welcomed their first child, Maxima, a little over a year ago. The couple recently announced that they are expecting their second.
"I used to have meetings that ran really late," Zuckerberg said. "But now, I make sure that three times a week, I'm home to give [Maxima] a bath."
The anecdote takes on added meaning coming from a male CEO at the helm of a $400 billion company, particularly as professionals across industries are working more than 50 hours a week and foregoing vacation time.
Zuckerberg has made it a point to support parents at Facebook. Around the same time his daughter was born, the company announced it would extend its parental leave policy of four paid months to full-time employees of any gender and to same-sex couples.
In her seminal book "Lean In," Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg recalls how Zuckerberg created designated parking for pregnant women at the company's headquarters after Sandberg requested it.
The book encourages men to get involved more with childcare duties, and speak openly about it — a note that Zuckerberg seems to have taken to heart.
"The thing that I'm most proud of," Zuckerberg said, "and the thing that brings me the most happiness, is my family."
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