Summary of Tiffany Dufu's Drop the Ball

Everest Media

Description

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.
Sample Book Insights:
#1 I was groomed to manage a home since I was young. When I was sixteen, my parents divorced, and I became the woman of the house. I was an opinionated, driven girl who loved being given leadership roles at school and in church.
#2 Women today often feel the pressure to succeed at work and keep things running smoothly at home, especially when children arrive. Men, on the other hand, rarely feel this pressure.
#3 The examples set by our parents and extended families are models for our own adult lives. We grow up believing that we need to be in charge at home, because that’s what we see our mothers doing.
#4 My father was one of eleven kids, born into a housing project not far from where my mother lived. He experimented with drugs but otherwise stayed out of trouble and always had a desire to help people. He went to college on the GI bill, earned a Ph. D. in theology, and worked as an elementary school guidance counselor.

Sujets

• Business
• Economics
• Lettres et linguistique
• Women in Business

Informations

• Publié par: Everest Media LLC
• Date de parution: 03 mai 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781669399551
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Insights on Tiffany Dufu's Drop the Ball
Contents Insights from Chapter 1 Insights from Chapter 2 Insights from Chapter 3 Insights from Chapter 4 Insights from Chapter 5
Insights from Chapter 1

#1

I was groomed to manage a home since I was young. When I was sixteen, my parents divorced, and I became the woman of the house. I was an opinionated, driven girl who loved being given leadership roles at school and in church.

#2

Women today often feel the pressure to succeed at work and keep things running smoothly at home, especially when children arrive. Men, on the other hand, rarely feel this pressure.

#3

The examples set by our parents and extended families are models for our own adult lives. We grow up believing that we need to be in charge at home, because that’s what we see our mothers doing.

#4

My father was one of eleven kids, born into a housing project not far from where my mother lived. He experimented with drugs but otherwise stayed out of trouble and always had a desire to help people. He went to college on the GI bill, earned a Ph. D. in theology, and worked as an elementary school guidance counselor.

#5

I grew up in a church where women were primarily caregivers, and men were the leaders. I remember feeling frustrated by this, as I was always told that I was bright and college bound, but I was told that I should quietly care for others.

#6

Gender role indoctrination starts early, and is passed down to us in the attitudes and actions of even the most progressive and well-intentioned parents.

#7

The culture at large communicates expectations about what our roles should look like. From episodes of Modern Family to women’s magazines to Pinterest, we’re bombarded with external messages about where we should be spending our time and energy.

#8

The pressure women put on themselves to have it all is only compounded by the messages they receive from their community and from society as a whole. We have been taught that we cannot be successful in the public sphere unless we are superstars at home as well.

#9

The models we see in our own families, in our cultural and religious traditions, and in popular culture have communicated to women time and again that their primary role is to care for others, and that when they don’t fulfill those obligations, everyone suffers.

#10

I came of age with a clear understanding of what was expected of me as a girl at home, but it wasn’t until I was in high school that I realized how important it would be for me to excel professionally.

#11

The only college that any high-achieving black girl in the Pacific Northwest wanted to go to was Spelman. It was the epitome of accomplishment. I was a voracious reader, and along with Sweet Valley High novellas, I consumed books by authors like Alice Walker, Pearl Cleage, and Tina McElroy Ansa.

#12

I was a determined girl who knew how to make things happen. I was also a good girl who understood when what she wanted didn’t matter. I was a young woman now, and women sacrificed for their families. I had to start packing my dorm room.

#13

I was determined to get Kojo to notice me. I figured an engineering major and athlete would be smart, hardworking, and have earning potential. I was right, and he asked me out.

#14

I had spent a lot of energy trying to get Kojo to do something I wanted, only to later discover that there would have been a faster route if I had been willing to compromise.

#15

I knew Kojo was interested in me, but I was still very young, so I didn’t answer him right away. Instead, I consulted the women I came to call my Sage Mentors: relatives and other experienced individuals whose opinions I trusted. They all gave me the same advice: marry him now, but wait to have children.

#16

For the first eight years of our marriage, our household responsibilities fell along traditional gender lines. It was like the default ringtone on our smartphones.

#17

I was a progressive and thoroughly modern couple, until I realized that I was on Stepford wife autopilot. I had always assumed that women were better equipped for domesticity than men, but I was wrong.

#18

I had been working as a fund-raiser for Seattle Girls’ School, a new social venture aimed at empowering girls to be leaders and innovators, when I woke up one day to the first tick of my biological clock. I was ready to have a baby.

#19

I was three months pregnant with Kofi when I was asked to introduce the governor at a Women for Deval Patrick event. I was worried about how I would handle my job and new parenthood, but I tried to brush the feeling off.

#20

I was heartbroken to leave Boston, but I knew that the move to New York was the next right step in Kojo’s career. It felt unfair that his career path was free and clear, while mine was blocked.

#21

I had always assumed that as a working mother, I’d take my baby to a day care, but I quickly learned that high-quality day cares in New York City were extremely expensive. I decided to hire a nanny instead.

#22

It was difficult for me to adjust to having a hard stop to every workday. I was used to working as long as I needed to get everything done. But with each passing day, I began to feel that I was losing an imaginary race. I had no time to figure out how to fit in exercise.

#23

I adored my husband, Kojo, but I was often annoyed with him.