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Photo by AP Photo/Noah Berger, File

Outlining her own experiences Sandberg, 48, said she had suffered sexual harassment in the past, and continued to do so despite the power she now wields. On one occasion, early in her career, a man at a conference came to her hotel room late at night and banged on her door until she had to call security. She said: “Like almost every woman – and some men – I know, I have experienced sexual harassment in the form of unwanted sexual advances in the course of doing my job.

“A hand on my leg under the table at a meeting. Married men – all decades older than I – offering ‘career advice’ and then suggesting that they could share it with me alone late at night.”

She made clear that none of the harassment was by men she had worked for, and all of her male bosses during her career had been “not just respectful, but deeply supportive”. But in each case the harasser had more “power” than her.

A hand on my leg under the table at a meeting. Married men - all decades older than I - offering 'career advice' and then suggesting that they could share it with me alone late at night

She said: “That’s not a coincidence. It’s why they felt free to cross that line.

“As I’ve become more senior, and gained more power, these moments have occurred less and less frequently. But they still happen every so often.”

Sandberg said the current movement against sexual harassment was a “watershed moment” and an “opportunity that must not be lost.”