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Take Back Your Power summary

Name: Take Back Your Power
Rating: 3.8 (48 reviews)
Author: Deborah Liu

Deborah Liu

10 New Rules for Women at Work

3.8 (48 ratings)

15 mins

Brief summary

Take Back Your Power by Deborah Liu empowers individuals to recognize and harness their personal and professional strengths. Liu provides strategies for overcoming obstacles, building confidence, and achieving success in one's career and life.

Topics

Work Culture Success Leadership Career Progress Diversity & Inclusion

Table of Contents

Take Back Your Power
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Key idea 1 of 5

What’s in it for me? Workplaces aren’t fair. Learn to thrive anyway.

It took several years before Deb Liu realized she was part of the problem.

As the head of payments at Facebook, Liu frequently gave the keynote speech on Day Two of the Money 20/20 conference. Before her address, she would walk the show floor with her male colleague and witness the same scenario unfold: anyone they encountered would invariably direct the conversation to Liu’s colleague, assuming that – payments being a historically male-dominated industry – Liu’s colleague was the one in charge. Not wanting to make the interactions awkward, Liu would allow herself to be edged out. It didn’t matter that after giving the keynote, she would suddenly be overwhelmed with people requesting her time and attention; every time she let the behavior slide, she was feeding the narrative that it was natural to overlook women.

Gender inequality is a deeply ingrained systemic issue that starts in our classrooms and pervades our workplaces. Women are subject to biases and barriers that men, for the most part, aren’t. Frequent microaggressions and greater scrutiny mean that females often work harder than their male colleagues while receiving less pay and fewer growth opportunities. Unfortunately, this reality is more extreme for women of color, women with disabilities, and women who identify as LGBTQIA+. Despite the ongoing fight for fairness, our workplaces still have a long way to go, and systemic issues like these require fundamental policy changes to correct.

Yet this shouldn’t leave us demoralized or apathetic. Truth is power, and by acknowledging the reality we face at work, we can take well-informed action to reclaim our power and make a mark nonetheless. Yes, we must continue to pursue widespread parity, but as Liu discovered, success is possible in the meantime through taking responsibility at an individual level.

In this Blink, we’ll cover five of the ten ways Liu has found we can do just that, based on her experiences and the experiences of several giants in their respective fields. (We’ll also use “we” to mostly mean “women” but, of course, much of the information is relevant to men who also want to see equality in the workplace.)

Ready to follow in the footsteps of these formidable females? Let’s get started.

Mind the gap

It starts early and subtly. Young girls are called bossy; young boys are deemed natural leaders. Girls are prompted to put others before themselves; boys are encouraged to compete. Females are praised for being demure; males for being dominant. So is it any wonder that by the time women reach adulthood and enter the workforce, we occupy less than a quarter of board seats in Fortune 500 companies?

The first step to reclaiming power in the workplace is seeing the playing field for what it is: unbalanced. Unlike men, women have to choose between power and praise. This complex double bind and its implications can be hard to confront, but we must. Only then can we go about setting things right.

It’s crucial that we educate ourselves and others on the realities of being a woman in the workforce, such as the “invisible tax” that plagues women who decide to have kids. In heterosexual relationships, on average, the husband will enjoy a six percent increase in salary for each child he has, while the wife will suffer a four percent decrease. Over the course of their careers, working moms in the United States can see their earnings take a hit of over 30 percent.

With our eyes open to inequalities like these, we can commit to calling out the insidious ways we – and those around us – are contributing to the problem. Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, famously did this in 2016 when a woman shared that she was encouraging her granddaughters to “date the nerd” at school in case he becomes the next tech titan. Zuckerberg’s response perfectly models the shift in narrative that we can each enact: “Even better would be to encourage them to be the nerd in their school so they can be the next successful inventor!”

While it’s frustrating to face the far-reaching inequalities women encounter in the workplace, it’s imperative to acknowledge them, educate ourselves about them, and resolve to flip the script in ways both large and small. If we want more women in Fortune 500 companies, the very least we can do is stop calling them “bossy.”

Revoke all free passes

Growing up, Liu was frequently the “only”: the only woman, the only minority, or a combination of the two.

When she was four years old, Liu’s family moved from Queens, New York, to a small town outside Charleston, South Carolina, where only one percent of the population were people of Asian origins. In response to the aggressions, bullying, and overt racism her family experienced there, Liu became adept at hiding and blending in from an early age.

Amplify your superpower

It took 20 years before Marvel released its first film with a standalone female superhero, Captain Marvel. Women had played minor or supporting roles in the unbroken succession of 20 male superhero movies prior, but the disparity in the Marvel Cinematic Universe reflected the disparity in our own: very few women are considered compelling protagonists in their own right.

Yet each of us possesses a “superpower,” regardless of our gender, race, or sexual orientation. Like the Marvel characters, this superpower is what makes us unique, and it is where our true value lies. It doesn’t matter how niche this superpower is or how many lives it has the potential to benefit. All have their place.

Build firm foundations at home

So far, this Blink has been primarily workplace-centric, but we’d be remiss not to address the yin to our work lives’ yang: our home lives.

Sheryl Sandberg, former Chief Operating Officer of Facebook and founder of LeanIn.org, has quipped, “The most important career choice you’ll make is who you marry.” While this may sound unintuitive, those who juggle a career and family will appreciate how incisive it is.

Reverse engineer your legacy

Liu has a challenge for you: set aside an evening to write your own obituary.

Sound morbid? It’s actually the opposite. Getting clear on how you want your story to end is incredibly empowering – even more so given that power isn’t something women are typically handed at work.

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What is Take Back Your Power about?

Take Back Your Power (2022) is part memoir, part practical guide to making your mark as a woman in the workplace. Through a wide-ranging selection of anecdotes from women at the top of their fields, it offers ten rules for career success and shares the mindsets and strategies that make each possible.

Take Back Your Power Review

Take Back Your Power (2021) by Deborah Liu offers insightful strategies for reclaiming control over our lives and creating lasting change. Here's why this book is worth reading:

It provides practical tools and techniques that empower individuals to overcome obstacles and make positive changes.
With its engaging stories and relatable examples, the book offers real-life inspiration for taking charge and transforming our lives.
By addressing the intersection of personal growth and empowerment, the book offers unique perspectives that keep readers captivated and motivated throughout.

Who should read Take Back Your Power?

Female business leaders and employees
People from underrepresented backgrounds looking to make their mark at work
Men committed to fostering equality in the workplace

About the Author

Deborah Liu is an American tech executive who has held senior roles at eBay, PayPal, and Facebook. Today, Liu is the president and CEO of Ancestry and serves on the boards of Intuit and Women in Product. Liu was named one of Business Insider’s Most Powerful Female Engineers in 2018 and Entrepreneur’s 100 Women of Influence in 2022. She is a current member of the Committee of 100.

Categories with Take Back Your Power

Personal Development Management & Leadership Corporate Culture

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