Underpinnings Blog

Author: Peggy Hagerty Duffy

  • No Apologies

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    Peggy Hagerty Duffy
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    #notsorry We’ve been a bit absent here at Underpinnings lately, and I was going to lead off this post by apologizing.  I’m so sorry that I am overloaded with work, that I’m in charge of various parts of three separate charity fundraisers in three months, that I’m trying to run a group of 25 community…

  • Shades of Gray

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    Peggy Hagerty Duffy
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    We Can Do It…Even Better Now If you follow our little blog and read the comments from our readers, you might have seen a rather pointed comment on our introduction of our contest winner, Lori Simpson, back in December.  After we listed all of Lori’s lengthy accomplishments, I suggested that this was all very impressive…

  • Civil Wars

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    Peggy Hagerty Duffy
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    The Casualties Are Higher When It’s Personal It didn’t take the #metoo movement for most of us to be familiar with being undervalued or disrespected or ignored at work or in school.  Even our youngest millennials who work in progressive companies with open-minded colleagues have run into ugliness at some point.  The trouble may have…

  • Time’s Up II

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    Peggy Hagerty Duffy
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    Part II – Us Previously we addressed the unsuitable behavior of some men in the workplace, and we offered guidelines for those men who were either sincerely or disingenuously unable to tell the difference between appropriate and inappropriate actions. The other variable in the equation that adds up to a happy workplace is our behavior.…

  • Time’s Up

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    Peggy Hagerty Duffy
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    Part I – Them The recent Harvey Weinstein revelations, #metoo movement, and Time’s Up campaign have had a number of consequences, most of them quite fabulous.  Let’s start by saying that I have ZERO problem with the fact that a bunch of actresses finally brought attention to a problem a lot of us have faced…

  • When One Gate Closes, Another Opens

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    Peggy Hagerty Duffy
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    And In Second Place… First Runner Up in our anniversary contest, Lucky Nagarajan is a powerhouse in a tiny package, a true spitfire.  She is never without a smile and tackles every new task with a positive attitude.  She obtained her Master of Science in Geotechnical Engineering at the University of Texas at Arlington and…

  • Sharp as a Tack

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    Peggy Hagerty Duffy
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    We Have a Winner! We women in the foundations industry may have lots of questions about how to forge ahead in our chosen positions: When do we draw the line with suggestive comments from co-workers? How do we reconcile ourselves with the sacrifices necessary for life balance? How do we know if our gender is…

  • Happy Anniversary Us!

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    Peggy Hagerty Duffy
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    Where’s the Smash Cake? A little over a year ago we decided to do something crazy, and Underpinnings was hatched.  We have built up a fabulous community, and we hear every day from one of our “skirts in dirt” how much they enjoy reading others’ stories and how much it helps them to know they’re…

  • Thankful

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    Peggy Hagerty Duffy
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    Thanks Are Not Relative Here at Underpinnings, we strive to figure out how to level the playing field for women in the deep foundations industry and in other male-dominated fields.  We try to listen to the women in our professional and personal communities so that we can understand the many facets of the obstacles women…

  • Do Be Do Be Do

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    Peggy Hagerty Duffy
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    Was Frank Singing About Balance? Are you familiar with the 50/50 theory?  This concept might be considered part of today’s earthy crunchy “mindfulness” movement, a nebulous buzz word-y school of thought that encompasses everything from recycling to snacking.  However, the 50/50 theory seems to have some actual merit, so I’m kicking it out of the…