Take Back Your Power

July 1, 2022
The CEO of Ancestry offers rules of engagement for professional women. Liu was 8 years old when she first learned that "being a girl wasn't good enough." Instead, her mother told her she was "lucky" that her father was "content" to have girls despite the Chinese cultural imperative to have sons. Growing up, the author followed her father's footsteps into math and science. Later, she took an engineering degree only to discover that her professional life would be challenged by "an undercurrent that inevitably skews in males' favor." Liu, a former vice president at Facebook, shows women how to overcome the invisible biases that can prevent them from attaining the success they deserve. They must first understand what power is and how everything from language to unconscious gender biases can hold them back. Once women become aware, they must work against giving themselves what Liu calls a "free pass" to do things like not speak up or push back just because it might make them, or others, uncomfortable. "The price for not putting yourself out there," she writes, "is not having influence, not being invited to the next meeting, not getting that promotion." Furthermore, women must be unafraid to change course, even if is into an area that did not seem "preordained." The author gives the example of her friend Abigail Wen, who found success at Intel before deciding to become a full-time fiction writer. Staying open to learning and seeing the positive in even the worst situations are critical elements in finding success. So are relationships actively cultivated along one's professional path: "No one succeeds alone." Liu's book often recalls the "lean in" philosophy espoused by her mentor, Sheryl Sandberg. While some of her advice may help regular working women, it will likely only interest those already in--or aspiring to--executive-level positions. A well-intended book that makes some good points but may have limited appeal.

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July 25, 2022
It’s possible for women to “rebalance the equation and to take back our power,” writes Ancestry CEO Liu in her inspiring debut, a guide “to changing yourself while changing the world.” She recounts her experience in the early aughts climbing the corporate ladder, working at PayPal, eBay, and as v-p at Facebook before landing at Ancestry. No matter where she worked, though, Liu felt like the “odd ‘man’ out” as the only woman. To help other women become “leaders equal to men,” she offers 10 rules, including charting one’s own course (breaking a goal into “achievable units with monthly or quarterly milestones” can help), learning to forgive (since workplace conflict is “inevitable”), developing allies (such as mentors, sponsors, and a circle of coworkers with shared interests), and creating balance at home (“a strong partnership at home is the rock on which you build your career”). The book also includes great interviews with high-powered women: the experience of Ellen Ochoa, the first Latina woman in space, is a case study in making one’s voice heard, and Sylvia Acevedo, one of “America’s Top 50 Women in Tech” per Forbes, “never allow others to underestimate her.” Practical and wise, this is a worthy addition to the body of work on empowering women.