THE SOUL OF A WOMAN | ISABEL ALLENDE
When I say that I was a feminist in kindergarten, I am not exaggerating.
As a child, Isabel Allende watched her mother, abandoned by her husband, provide for her three small children. As a young woman coming of age in the late 1960s, she rode the first wave of feminism. She has seen what has been accomplished by the movement in the course of her lifetime. And over the course of three marriages, she has learned how to grow as a woman while having a partner, when to step away, and the rewards of embracing one’s sexuality.
So what do women want? To be safe, to be valued, to live in peace, to have their own resources, to be connected, to have control over their bodies and lives, and above all, to be loved. On all these fronts, there is much work to be done, and this book, Allende hopes, will ‘light the torch of our daughters and granddaughters with mine. They will have to live for us, as we lived for our mothers, and carry on with the work still left to be finished.’
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WHITE TEARS, BROWN SCARS: HOW WHITE FEMINISM BETRAYS WOMEN OF COLOR | RUBY HAMAD
‘How is it that we have been so conditioned to privilege the emotional comfort of white people?’
White tears possess a potency that is rarely acknowledged or commented upon, but they have long been used as a dangerous and insidious tool against people of colour, weaponised in order to invoke sympathy and divert blame.
Taking us from the slave era, when white women fought in court to keep ‘ownership’ of their slaves, through centuries of colonialism, when women offered a soft face for brutal tactics, to the modern workplace, in which tears serve as a defense to counter accusations of bias and micro-aggressions, White Tears/Brown Scars tells a charged story of white women’s active participation in campaigns of oppression. It offers a long-overdue validation of the experiences of women of colour and an urgent call-to-arms in the need for true intersectionality.
With rigour and precision, Hamad builds a powerful argument about the legacy of white superiority that we are socialised within, a reality that we must all apprehend in order to fight.
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HOW TO TALK TO ROBOTS: A GIRLS’ GUIDE TO A FUTURE DOMINATED BY AI | TABITHA GOLDSTAUB
How To Talk To Robots, is your girls guide to Artificial Intelligence. Entrepreneur Tabitha Goldstaub welcomes you into the AI world with a warm embrace. She brilliantly breaks down the tech-bro barriers offering a straightforward introduction and makes clear the enormous benefits of understanding AI.
If your social feed defines your spending habits or you’ve downloaded the latest filter to see what you’ll look like when you are old or now connect with your doctor using an app, have applied for a job online or used your phone to arrive at work in record time, AI is playing a part in how you live, work and play. We live in an era where machines are taught to learn and act without human intervention and there are infinite possibilities to their applications. The risk of these technologies biasing against you is real, and this book will give you tools to navigate the current and future developments consciously.
As well as explaining the risks Tabitha lays out the awesome benefits AI can offer. From spotting disease to tailoring education and tackling climate change the potential rewards are life-changing.
Starting with a potted history, Tabitha shines a light on the many unsung heroines since the rise of AI in the 1960s. In conversation with Karen Hao she simply demonstrates how the technology works (and sometimes doesn’t work!) and interviews a cross-section of women who use AI in their work today including Jeanette Winterson, Sharmadean Reid, Martha Lane Fox and Hannah Fry. This book doesn’t just present the challenge; Tabitha offers supportive practical advice and shares an extensive list of books, films, courses and more for further exploration.
However it is that you identify with womanhood, wherever you are in life, and whatever you do, this technology is inescapable and now is your time to make sure AI works for you – and not you for it!
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THE MACHO PARADOX: WHY SOME MEN HURT WOMEN AND HOW ALL MEN CAN HELP | JACKSON KATZ
A fully revised and updated edition to a classic bestseller, The Macho Paradox is the first book to show how violence against women is a men’s issue—and how all genders can come together to stop it.
From the #MeToo movement to current discussions about gender norms in schools, sports, politics, and media culture, The Macho Paradox incorporates the voices and experiences of the women, men, and others who have confronted the problem of gender violence from all angles.
Bestselling author Jackson Katz is a pioneering educator and activist on the topic of men’s violence against women. In this revised edition of his heralded book, Katz outlines the ways in which cultural ideas about “manhood” contribute to men’s sexually harassing and abusive behaviors and that men have a positive role to play in challenging and changing the sexist cultural norms that too often lead to gender violence.
This important book for abused women covers topics ranging from mental and emotional abuse to sexual harassment to domestic violence and is a vital read for women with controlling partners or as a self-help book for men.
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WHITE FEMINISM | KOA BECK
A timely and impassioned exploration of how our society has commodified feminism and continues to systemically shut outwomen of colour.
Join the important conversation about race, empowerment, and inclusion with this powerful new feminist classic and rousing call for change. Koa Beck, writer and former editor-in-chief of Jezebel, boldly examines the history of feminism, from the true mission of the suffragettes to the rise of corporate feminism with clear-eyed scrutiny and meticulous detail. She also examines overlooked communities, including Native American, Muslim, transgender, and more – and their difficult and ongoing struggles for social change.
In these pages she meticulously documents how elitism and racial prejudice has driven the narrative of feminist discourse. She blends pop culture, primary historical research, and first-hand storytelling to show us how we have shut women out of the movement, and what we can do to change things for a new generation.
Combining a scholar’s understanding with hard data and razor-sharp cultural commentary, White Feminism is a witty, intelligent and profoundly eye-opening book that will challenge long-accepted conventions and completely upend the way we understand the struggle for women’s equality.
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VITAL VOICES | EDITED BY ALYSE NELSON, PAINTINGS BY GAYLE KABAKER
Vital Voices: 100 Women Using Their Power to Empower celebrates 100 global female leaders who are redefining power. Candid and compelling, each leader shares personal stories, insights and ideas, showing us that women lead differently and that this difference is sorely needed in our world today. While each woman is path-breaking in her own right, it’s together that these 100 voices illustrate the transformative power of women’s leadership across cultures, industries and generations. A celebration of women’s suffrage and gender equality through the use of visual and anecdotal story-telling as told through the eyes of 100 global women leaders who are redefining power, and using their power to strengthen female relationships across the globe. Some of the women featured in the book include Serena Williams, Hillary Clinton, Christine Legarde, Greta Thunberg, and Samar Minall Ah Khan.
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THE SMART WIFE: WHY SIRI, ALEXA & OTHER SMART HOME DEVICES NEED A FEMINIST REBOOT | YOLANDE STRENGERS & JENNY KENNEDY
Meet the Smart Wife – at your service, an eclectic collection of feminized AI, robotic, and smart devices. This digital assistant is friendly and sometimes flirty, docile and efficient, occasionally glitchy but perpetually available. She might go by Siri, or Alexa, or inhabit Google Home. She can keep us company, order groceries, vacuum the floor, turn out the lights. A Japanese digital voice assistant–a virtual anime hologram named Hikari Azuma–sends her “master” helpful messages during the day; an American sexbot named Roxxxy takes on other kinds of household chores. In The Smart Wife, Yolande Strengers and Jenny Kennedy examine the emergence of digital devices that carry out “wifework”–domestic responsibilities that have traditionally fallen to (human) wives. They show that the principal prototype for these virtual helpers–designed in male-dominated industries–is the 1950s housewife: white, middle class, heteronormative, and nurturing, with a spick-and-span home. It’s time, they say, to give the Smart Wife a reboot.
What’s wrong with preferring domestic assistants with feminine personalities? We like our assistants to conform to gender stereotypes–so what? For one thing, Strengers and Kennedy remind us, the design of gendered devices re-inscribes those outdated and unfounded stereotypes. Advanced technology is taking us backwards on gender equity. Strengers and Kennedy offer a Smart Wife “manifesta,” proposing a rebooted Smart Wife that would promote a revaluing of femininity in society in all her glorious diversity.
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WOMEN DON’T OWE YOU PRETTY | FLORENCE GIVEN
Women Don’t Owe You Pretty is the ultimate book for anyone who wants to challenge the out-dated narratives supplied to us by the patriarchy.
Through Florence’s story you will learn how to protect your energy, discover that you are the love of your own life, and realise that today is a wonderful day to dump them.
Florence Given is here to remind you that you owe men nothing, least of all pretty.
WARNING: CONTAINS EXPLICIT CONTENT (AND A LOAD OF UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTHS).
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OUTSPOKEN: 50 SPEECHES BY INCREDIBLE WOMEN
A lot of history is made up of speeches. Speeches about big ideas, celebratory speeches, rousing speeches to inspire soldiers to fight to the death, comic speeches to help us see the funny side to life. From Jesus to Winston Churchill to Martin Luther King Jr. and even Donald Trump, we’ve been raised with the words of important men ringing in our ears …
But where are all the women?
Unless you’re the type of person who loves researching suffrage speeches, you are unlikely to know many soundbites from women throughout history. Outspoken: 50 Speeches by Incredible Women is going to change that. From Joan of Arc and Virginia Woolf, to Oprah Winfrey and Greta Thunberg, this is a celebration of outstanding and outspoken women everywhere.
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MORE THAN A WOMAN | CAITLIN MORAN
A decade ago, Caitlin Moran thought she had it all figured out. Her instant bestseller How to Be a Woman was a game-changing take on feminism, the patriarchy, and the general ‘hoo-ha’ of becoming a woman. Back then, she firmly believed ‘the difficult bit’ was over, and her forties were going to be a doddle.
If only she had known: when middle age arrives, a whole new bunch of tough questions need answering. Why isn’t there such a thing as a ‘Mum Bod’? How did sex get boring? What are men really thinking? Where did all that stuff in the kitchen drawers come from? Can feminists have Botox? Why has wine turned against you? How can you tell the difference between a Teenage Micro-Breakdown, and The Real Thing? Has feminism gone too far? And, as always, WHO’S LOOKING AFTER THE CHILDREN?
Now with ageing parents, teenage daughters, a bigger bum and a To-Do list without end, Caitlin Moran is back with More Than A Woman: a guide to growing older, a manifesto for change, and a celebration of all those middle-aged women who keep the world turning.
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BIG FRIENDSHIP | ANN FRIEDMAN & AMINATOU SOW
Close friendships are the key to happiness – but we don’t talk enough about what it takes to nurture them for the long haul.
Telling the story of their own ten-year, complex, loving friendship, Aminatou and Ann share hard-won wisdom with honesty, hilarity and compassion. They’ve weathered life-threatening health scares, long-distance living, and one unfortunate Thanksgiving dinner eaten in a parking lot. And they know: the most important part of a Big Friendship is investing in each other again and again.
This is a testament to the power of society’s most underappreciated relationship and a compelling story of how it can survive, thrive and become a life-affirming bond.
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HOOD FEMINISM | MIKKI KENDALL
I’m a feminist. Mostly.
I’m an asshole. Mostly.
All too often the focus of mainstream feminism is not on basic survival for the many, but on increasing privilege for the few.
Meeting basic needs is a feminist issue. Food insecurity, the living wage and access to education are feminist issues. The fight against racism, ableism and transmisogyny are all feminist issues.
White feminists often fail to see how race, class, sexual orientation and disability intersect with gender. How can feminists stand in solidarity as a movement when there is a distinct likelihood that some women are oppressing others?
Insightful, incendiary and ultimately hopeful, Hood Feminism is both an irrefutable indictment of a movement in flux and also clear-eyed assessment of how to save it.
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WONDER WOMEN, SEX, POWER, AND THE QUEST FOR PERFECTION | DEBORA L. SPAR
Debora L. Spar spent most of her life avoiding feminism. Raised after the tumult of the 1960s, she presumed that the gender war was over. “We thought we could glide into the new era with babies, board seats, and husbands in tow,” she writes. “We were wrong.”
Spar should know. One of the first women professors at Harvard Business School, she went on to have three children and became the chair of her department. Now, she’s the president of Barnard College, arguably the most important women’s college in the country, and an institution firmly committed to feminism. Wonder Women is Spar’s story, but it is also the culture’s. Armed with reams of new research, she examines how women’s lives have, and have not, changed over the past fifty years-and how it is that the struggle for power has become a quest for perfection. Wise, often funny, and always human, Wonder Women asks: How far have women really come? And what will it take to get true equality for good?
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100 NASTY WOMEN OF HISTORY | HANNAH JEWELL
100 fascinating and brilliantly written stories about history’s bravest, baddest but little known ‘nasty’ women from across the world.
These are the women who were deemed too nasty for their times, too nasty to be recognised, too nasty to be paid for their work and sometimes too nasty to be allowed to live.
When you learn about women in history, they’re often made out to be shining, glittering souls. But when you hear about these Bold-Yet-Morally-Irreproachable Women of History who were 100% Pure and Good™, you’re probably not being told the best bits of her life. You probably missed the part where she:
Slept around
Wore men’s clothes
Crashed planes
Led a revolution
Terrorised the seven seas
Wrote ~sensual poetry~
Punched a Nazi (metaphorically, but not always)
These are the women you’ve probably never heard of, but should. Take these stories and tell them to your friends, because everyone should know about the nasty women from history who gave zero f*cks whatsoever. These are the 100 Nasty Women of History you need to know about.
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THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE, BUT FIRST IT WILL PISS YOU OFF | GLORIA STEINEM
An illustrated collection of Gloria Steinem’s most inspirational and outrageous quotes, with an introduction and essays by the feminist activist herself ‘When the path is dark, Gloria’s words light the way forward.’ – Natalie Portman For decades, people around the world have found guidance, humour and unity in Gloria Steinem’s gift for creating quotes that offer hope and inspire action. From her early days as a journalist and feminist activist, Steinem’s words have helped generations to empower themselves and work together. Covering topics from relationships (‘Many are looking for the right person. Too few are trying to be the right person.’) to the patriarchy (‘Men are liked better when they win. Women are liked better when they lose. This is how the patriarchy is enforced every day.’ ) and activism (‘Revolutions, like trees, grow from the bottom up.’ ), this book will make you want to laugh, march and create quotes of your own. The Truth Will Set You Free, But First It Will Piss You Off! is both timeless and timely, a gift of hope from Steinem to readers, and a book to share with friends. Gloria has a profound knack for expressing ideas in ways that stick with you.’ – Emma Watson
LIFE HONESTLY, STRONG OPINIONS FROM SMART WOMEN | THE POOL
Life Honestly is a complete guide to modern life from some of today’s most talented and insightful writers including Bryony Gordon, Dolly Alderton, Natasha Devon, Lauren Laverne and Yomi Adegoke.
Within these pages you’ll find an un-airbrushed selection of advice, comment and opinion. These are intimate stories from bad sex to bad boys, from workplace inequality to the sheer joy of learning something new, that will spark hope, triumph and occasionally outrage. In Life Honestly you will find fresh perspectives on everything from age milestones and friendship, motherhood and weddings, and why you should always, always, tell someone when you like their earrings. This book will make you feel empowered, supported and more prepared than ever to take on anything life has to offer because, honestly, we’re all in this together.
Featuring an introduction by The Pool co-founder Sam Baker, this fabulous collection is full of articles to inspire you. The pieces vary in length, which makes this a perfect collection to dip into for a few minutes while you wait for the kettle to boil, or something meatier for your morning commute. Some are long and some are short but they all pack a punch. From Sali Hughes on blended families to Viv Groskop offering fresh perspectives on daily problems, Life Honestly is a collection of advice, comment and opinion that acts as a complete guide to modern life.
These writers are empowering, engaging and unapologetic about their views: Life Honestly is full of lessons and observations on what it means to be a woman or non-binary person now.
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WORK LIKE A WOMAN, A MANIFESTO FOR CHANGE | MARY PORTAS
Are you ready to be your best self at work?
Packed with advice, tips and decades of business experience from Mary Portas, this is a book for every one of us: whatever level you are, wherever you work.
It’s about calling time on alpha culture and helping every one of us to be happier, more productive and collaborative.
It’s time to #WorkLikeAWoman.
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DIFFICULT WOMEN: A HISTORY OF FEMINISM IN 11 FIGHTS | HELEN LEWIS
Helen Lewis argues that feminism’s success is down to complicated, contradictory, imperfect women, who fought each other as well as fighting for equal rights. Too many of these pioneers have been whitewashed or forgotten in our modern search for feel-good, inspirational heroines. It’s time to reclaim the history of feminism as a history of difficult women.
In this book, you’ll meet the working-class suffragettes who advocated bombings and arson; the princess who discovered why so many women were having bad sex; the pioneer of the refuge movement who became a men’s rights activist; the ‘striker in a sari’ who terrified Margaret Thatcher; the wronged Victorian wife who definitely wasn’t sleeping with the prime minister; and the lesbian politician who outraged the country. Taking the story up to the present with the twenty-first-century campaign for abortion services, Helen Lewis reveals the unvarnished – and unfinished – history of women’s rights.
Drawing on archival research and interviews, Difficult Women is a funny, fearless and sometimes shocking narrative history, which shows why the feminist movement has succeeded – and what it should do next. The battle is difficult, and we must be difficult too.
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MODERN WOMEN, 52 PIONEERS | KIRA COCHRANE
Modern Women is a celebration of influential and inspiring women who have changed the world through their lives, work and actions.
From suffragettes to scientists, activists to artists, politicians to pilots and writers to riot grrrls, the women included have all paved the way for gender equality in their own indomitable way.
Find out about extraordinary women including writer and teacher Maya Angelou, computer scientist Ada Lovelace, abolitionist Harriet Tubman, film star Katharine Hepburn and pioneering musician Björk. Their lives also enable bigger stories to be told: the suffrage movement with Sophia Duleep Singh; the civil rights struggle and Audre Lorde; advances in science made by Rosalind Franklin; the push for artistic freedom in the work of Frida Kahlo and Louise Bourgeois; and the importance of equality in all sections of society advocated by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
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FEMINISTS DON’T WEAR PINK AND OTHER LIES | SCARLETT CURTIS
This is the must-read book that every woman needs. We asked 52 women: what does the F word mean to you? The result is extraordinary.
Curated by journalist and activist Scarlett Curtis, with incredible pieces by:
Emma Watson – Zoe Sugg – Keira Knightley – Gemma Arterton – Bridget Jones (by Helen Fielding) – Saoirse Ronan – Liv Little – Dolly Alderton – Karen Gillan – Alicia Garza – Jameela Jamil – Kat Dennings – Nimco Ali – Beanie Feldstein – Olivia Perez – Amika George – Evanna Lynch – Akilah Hughes – Tanya Burr – Grace Campbell – Alison Sudol – Elyse Fox – Charlie Craggs – Rhyannon Styles – Skai Jackson – Tasha Bishop – Lolly Adefope – Bronwen Brenner – Dr Alaa Murabit – Trisha Shetty – Jordan Hewson – Amy Trigg – Em Odesser – Emi Mahmoud – Lydia Wilson – Swati Sharma. Warning: contains a lot of feminism and some explicit content!
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FIGHT LIKE A GIRL | CLEMENTINE FORD
Online sensation and fearless feminist heroine, Clementine Ford is a beacon of hope and inspiration to thousands of women and girls. In the wake of Harvey Weinstein and the #MeToo campaign, Ford uses a mixture of memoir, opinion and investigative journalism to expose just how unequal the world continues to be for women.
Personal, inspiring and courageous, Fight Like A Girl is an essential manifesto for feminists new, old and soon-to-be. The book is a call-to-arms for women to rediscover the fury that has been suppressed by a society that, despite best efforts, still considers feminism to be a threat. Urgently needed, Fight Like a Girl is a passionate, rallying cry that will awaken readers to the fact they are not alone and there’s a brighter future where men and women can flourish equally – and that’s something worth fighting for.
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MISTAKES I MADE AT WORK | JESSICA BACAL
In Mistakes I Made at Work, a Publishers Weekly Top 10 Business Book for Spring 2014, Jessica Bacal interviews twenty-five successful women about their toughest on-the-job moments. These innovators across a variety of fields – from the arts to finance to tech – reveal that they’re more thoughtful, purposeful and assertive as leaders because they learned from their mistakes, not because they never made any.
Interviewees include:
Cheryl Strayed, bestselling author of Wild
Anna Holmes, founding editor of Jezebel.com
Kim Gordon, founding member of the band Sonic Youth
Joanna Barsch, Director Emeritus of McKinsey & Company
Carol Dweck, Stanford psychology professor
Ruth Ozeki, New York Times bestselling author of Tale for the Time Being
And many more
For readers of Lean In and #Girlboss, Mistakes I Made for Work is ideal for millenials just starting their careers, for women seeking to advance at work, or for anyone grappling with issues of perfectionism, and features fascinating and surprising anecdotes, as well as tips for readers.
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THE BOOK OF GUTSY WOMEN | HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON AND CHELSEA CLINTON
She couldn’t have been more than seven or eight years old. “Go ahead, ask your question,” her father urged, nudging her forward. She smiled shyly and said, “You’re my hero. Who’s yours?”
Many people—especially girls—have asked us that same question over the years. It’s one of our favorite topics.
HILLARY: Growing up, I knew hardly any women who worked outside the home. So I looked to my mother, my teachers, and the pages of Life magazine for inspiration. After learning that Amelia Earhart kept a scrapbook with newspaper articles about successful women in male-dominated jobs, I started a scrapbook of my own. Long after I stopped clipping articles, I continued to seek out stories of women who seemed to be redefining what was possible.
CHELSEA: This book is the continuation of a conversation the two of us have been having since I was little. For me, too, my mom was a hero; so were my grandmothers. My early teachers were also women. But I grew up in a world very different from theirs. My pediatrician was a woman, and so was the first mayor of Little Rock who I remember from my childhood. Most of my close friends’ moms worked outside the home as nurses, doctors, teachers, professors, and in business. And women were going into space and breaking records here on Earth.
Ensuring the rights and opportunities of women and girls remains a big piece of the unfinished business of the twenty-first century. While there’s a lot of work to do, we know that throughout history and around the globe women have overcome the toughest resistance imaginable to win victories that have made progress possible for all of us. That is the achievement of each of the women in this book.
So how did they do it? The answers are as unique as the women themselves. Civil rights activist Dorothy Height, LGBTQ trailblazer Edie Windsor, and swimmer Diana Nyad kept pushing forward, no matter what. Writers like Rachel Carson and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie named something no one had dared talk about before. Historian Mary Beard used wit to open doors that were once closed, and Wangari Maathai, who sparked a movement to plant trees, understood the power of role modeling. Harriet Tubman and Malala Yousafzai looked fear in the face and persevered. Nearly every single one of these women was fiercely optimistic—they had faith that their actions could make a difference. And they were right.
To us, they are all gutsy women—leaders with the courage to stand up to the status quo, ask hard questions, and get the job done. So in the moments when the long haul seems awfully long, we hope you will draw strength from these stories. We do. Because if history shows one thing, it’s that the world needs gutsy women.
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LEAN IN | SHERYL SANDBERG
Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In is a massive cultural phenomenon and its title has become an instant catchphrase for empowering women. The book soared to the top of bestseller lists internationally, igniting global conversations about women and ambition. Sandberg packed theatres, dominated opinion pages, appeared on every major television show and on the cover of Time magazine, and sparked ferocious debate about women and leadership.
Ask most women whether they have the right to equality at work and the answer will be a resounding yes, but ask the same women whether they’d feel confident asking for a raise, a promotion, or equal pay, and some reticence creeps in. The statistics, although an improvement on previous decades, are certainly not in women’s favour – of 197 heads of state, only twenty-two are women. Women hold just 20 percent of seats in parliaments globally, and in the world of big business, a meagre eighteen of the Fortune 500 CEOs are women.
In Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg – Facebook COO and one of Fortune magazine’s Most Powerful Women in Business – draws on her own experience of working in some of the world’s most successful businesses and looks at what women can do to help themselves, and make the small changes in their life that can effect change on a more universal scale.
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THE LITTLE BOOK OF FEMINISM | HARRIET DYER
Do you want to know more about the fight for women’s rights, what we’ve achieved and how we got there? This helpful little guide will teach you the history, theory, big issues and everything you need to know to become a CARD-CARRYING FEMINIST.
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FULL FRONTAL FEMINISM | JESSICA VALENTI
Now in its updated second edition, Full Frontal Feminism is a book that continues to embody the forward-looking messages that author Jessica Valenti propagated as founder of the popular website, Feministing.com. Full Frontal Feminism is a smart and relatable guide to the issues that matter to today’s young women. This edition includes a new foreword by Valenti, reflecting upon what’s happened in the seven years since Full Frontal Feminism was originally published. With new openers from Valenti in every chapter, the book covers a range of topics, including pop culture, health, reproductive rights, violence, education, relationships, and more. Chapters include: You’re a Hardcore Feminist. I Swear. Feminists Do It Better (and Other Sex Tips) Pop Culture Gone Wild The Blame (and Shame) Game If These Uterine Walls Could Talk Material World My Big Fat Unnecessary Wedding and Other Dating Diseases Real” Women Have Babies I Promise I Won’t Say Herstory” Boys Do Cry Beauty Cult Sex and the City Voters, My Ass A Quick Academic Aside Get to It. Since its original publication, Full Frontal Feminism has reassured readers, yeah, you’re feminists, and that’s actually pretty cool.
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PUSHBACK | SELENA REZVANI
Popular leadership blogger gives the low-down on standing up for yourself In Pushback, top leadership consultant Selena Rezvani argues that self-advocacy is critical to success. Yet women initiate negotiations four times less often than men, resulting in getting less of what they want–promotion opportunities, plum assignments, and higher pay.
This book shines a light on the real rules of holding your own and pushing back for what is rightfully yours. Drawing on interviews with high-level leaders, Rezvani offers readers in the first half of their career the unedited truth about how women have asked their way to the top and triumphed–and how you can too.
Includes interviews with top business leaders such as Marie Chandoha, CEO of Charles Schwab Investment Management; Cindi Bigelow, President of Bigelow Tea Company; Fizzah Jafri, COO at Morgan Stanley; Rosemary Turner, President at UPS; and Irene Chang Britt, Chief Strategy Officer at Campbell’s Soup Offers a reliable and methodic approach to negotiating and navigating tough conversations Highlights compelling facts and research from the world of psychology and leadership Insightful and accessible, Pushback is a timely resource for savvy women who want to leverage their skills, promote themselves effectively, and fast track their careers.
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THE VAGENDA | HOLLY BAXTER & RHIANNON LUCY COSSLET
HAVE YOU EVER…
Obsessed over your body’s ‘problem areas’?
Killed an hour on the Sidebar of Shame?
Wondered whether to try ‘50 Sex Tips to Please Your Man’?
Felt worse after doing any of the above?
Holly and Rhiannon grew up reading glossy mags and, like most women, thought of them as just a bit of fun. But over time they started to feel uneasy – not just about magazines, but about music videos, page 3, and women being labelled frigid, princesses or tramps.
So, following the amazing success of their Vagenda blog, they wrote this book. Welcome to your indispensable guide to the madness of women’s media.
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WOMAN’S HOUR | FOREWARD BY JENNI MURRAY
For the last 70 years, the guests of Woman’s Hour have been entertaining listeners with their compelling combination of wit, warmth, insight and humour. Woman’s Hour has interviewed many of the biggest female names from entertainment, politics, the arts and beyond.
Words from Wise, Witty and Wonderful Women is a collection of quotes and extracts from 70 years of the Woman’s Hour archive, featuring some of the most memorable guests to appear on the programme, from Doris Lessing to Nora Ephron, Hilary Clinton to J.K. Rowling, and Bette Davis to Meryl Streep.
Charting the social and political revolution that has taken place in women’s lives over the past 70 years, as well as the perennial aspects of female life, such as love, family, relationships, the workplace, sex, ageing, and food, this delightful book shares fascinating insights and sage advice from the wise and wonderful women that have graced the Woman’s Hour airwaves over the decades.
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THE MOMENT OF LIFT | MELINDA GATES
Spend your own money. Go to school. Earn an income. Access contraceptives. Work outside the home. Walk outside the home. Choose whom to marry. Get a loan. Start a business. Own property. Divorce a husband. See a doctor. Drive a car. All of these rights are denied to women in some parts of the world.
A Sunday Times bestselling debut from Melinda Gates, a timely and necessary call to action for women’s empowerment. ‘How can we summon a moment of lift for human beings – and especially for women? Because when you lift up women, you lift up humanity.’
For the last twenty years, Melinda Gates has been on a mission to find solutions for people with the most urgent needs, wherever they live. Throughout this journey, one thing has become increasingly clear to her: If you want to lift a society up, you need to stop keeping women down.
In this moving and compelling book, Melinda shares the stories of the inspiring people she’s met during her work and travels around the world and the lessons she’s learned from them. As she writes in the introduction, “That is why I had to write this book – to share the stories of people who have given focus and urgency to my life. I want all of us to see ways we can lift women up where we live.” Melinda’s unforgettable narrative is backed by startling data as she presents the issues that most need our attention – from child marriage to lack of access to contraceptives to gender inequity in the workplace. And, for the first time, she writes about her personal life and the road to equality in her own marriage. Throughout, she shows how there has never been more opportunity to change the world – and ourselves. Writing with emotion, candour, and grace, she introduces us to remarkable women and shows the power of connecting with one another. When we lift others up, they lift us up, too.
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BRAVE NOT PERFECT | RESHMA SAUJANI
Imagine if you lived without the fear of failure, without the fear of not measuring up. If you no longer felt the need to stifle your thoughts and swallow what you really want to say in order to please and appease others. If you could stop berating yourself mercilessly for human mistakes, let go of the guilt and the strangling pressure to be perfect, and just breathe. What if, in every decision you faced, you made the brave choice or took the bolder path. Would you be happier? Would you impact the world in the ways you dream you can?
I believe the answer to both is yes.
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BELIEVE, BUILD, BECOME: HOW TO SUPERCHARGE YOUR CAREER | DEBBIE WOSSKOW AND ANNA JONES
A hands-on manual designed to help any woman develop the skills and mindset she needs to become a successful leader. Based on the AllBright Academy courses created by entrepreneur Debbie Wosskow (OBE, Founder of Love Home Swap) and leading businesswoman Anna Jones (former CEO of Hearst), Believe Build Become offers a chapter-by-chapter system for readers to work through, focusing on the skills and confidence required to master the mindset of leadership.
Debbie and Anna also reveal their own journeys to success – the gritty reality, the lessons learned and how they really got to the top. This is an inspirational, practical and accessible guide to becoming the boss you want to be.
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HOT FEMINIST | POLLY VERNON
Polly Vernon, Grazia columnist, Times feature writer (hair-flicker, Brazilian-waxer, jeans obsessive, outrageous flirt) presents a brave new perspective on feminism.
Drawing on her dedicated, life-long pursuit of hotness – having dismissed many of the rules on ‘good’ feminism at some point in the early 90s – she’ll teach you everything you ever wanted to know about being a feminist when you care about how you look. When part of your brain is constantly monologuing on fashion. When you check out your own reflection in every reflective surface. When your depilation practices are pretty much out of control. When you just really want to be fancied.
Hot Feminist is based on a principle of non-judgment (because there’s enough already), honesty about how often we mess this up, and empowerment through looks. Part memoir, part road map, it’s a rolling, raucous rejection of all those things we’re convinced we shouldn’t think / wear/ feel/ say/ buy/ want – and a celebration of all the things we can.
It is modern feminism, with style, without judgment.
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THE POWER OF WOMEN: WHY FEMINISM WORKS FOR EVERYONE | JUDE SARPONG
Feminism is often presented as a women’s movement, but the truth is that harnessing women’s untapped potential will make everyone better off… including men!
Looking to our personal relationships, social and cultural climate and business and economic potential, The Power of Women debunks the myths around feminism, and proves why an intersectional approach to bringing women to the table is key to personal, social and economic progress for society as a whole.
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A GOOD TIME TO BE A GIRL | HELENA MORRISSEY
In A Good Time to be a Girl, Helena Morrissey sets out how we might achieve the next big breakthrough towards a truly inclusive modern society.
Drawing on her experience as a City CEO, mother of nine, and founder of the influential 30% Club which campaigns for gender-balanced UK company boards, her manifesto for new ways of working, living, loving and raising families is for everyone, not just women. Making a powerful case for diversity and difference in any workplace, she shows how, together, we can develop smarter thinking and broader definitions of success. Gender balance, in her view, is an essential driver of economic prosperity and part of the solution to the many problems we face today.
Her approach is not aimed merely at training a few more women in working practices that have outlived their usefulness. Instead, this book sets out a way to reinvent the game – not at the expense of men but in ways that are right and relevant for a digital age. It is a powerful guide to success for us all.
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INVISIBLE WOMEN | CAROLINE CRIADO PEREZ
Imagine a world where your phone is too big for your hand, where your doctor prescribes a drug that is wrong for your body, where in a car accident you are 47% more likely to be seriously injured, where every week the countless hours of work you do are not recognised or valued.
If any of this sounds familiar, chances are that you’re a woman. Invisible Women shows us how, in a world largely built for and by men, we are systematically ignoring half the population. It exposes the gender data gap – a gap in our knowledge that is at the root of perpetual, systemic discrimination against women, and that has created a pervasive but invisible bias with a profound effect on women’s lives. From government policy and medical research, to technology, workplaces, urban planning and the media, Invisible Women reveals the biased data that excludes women.
Award-winning campaigner and writer Caroline Criado Perez brings together for the first time an impressive range of case studies, stories and new research from across the world that illustrate the hidden ways in which women are forgotten, and the impact this has on their health and well-being. In making the case for change, this powerful and provocative book will make you see the world anew.
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HOW REMARKABLE WOMEN LEAD | JOANNA BARSH AND SUSIE CRANSTON
The remarkable discoveries about what drives and sustains successful women leaders. Based on five years of proprietary research, How Remarkable Women Lead speaks to you as no other book has, with its hopeful outlook and unique ideas about success. It’s the new “right stuff” of leadership, raising provocative issues such as whether feminine leadership traits (for women and men) are better suited for our fast-changing, hyper-competitive, and increasingly complex world.
The authors, McKinsey & Company consultants Joanna Barsh and Susie Cranston, establish the links between joy, happiness, and distinctive performance with the groundbreaking model of Centered Leadership. The book’s personal stories and related insights show you the magic that happens when you put the five elements of Centered Leadership-meaning, framing, connecting, engaging, and energizing-to work.
They include:
– How Alondra de la Parra built on her strengths and passions to infuse her life with meaning and make her way in the male-dominated world of orchestra conducting
– How Andrea Jung, the CEO of Avon, avoided a downward spiral when the company turned down by “firing herself” on Friday and re-emerging on Monday as the “new” turnaround CEO
– How Ruth Porat’s sponsors at Morgan Stanley not only helped her grow but were also her ballast for coping with difficult personal and professional times
-How Eileen Naughton recovered after losing her dream job, landing on her feet at Google and open to a new leadership opportunity
– How Julie Coates of Woolworth’s Australia makes energy key to her professional success, with reserves for her “second shift” as wife and mother
How Remarkable Women Lead is both profoundly moving and actionable. Woman or man, you’ll find yourself in its pages and emerge with a practical plan for breaking through at both work and in life.
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EVE WAS SHAMED | HELENA KENNEDY
In Eve Was Shamed Helena Kennedy forensically examines the pressing new evidence that women are still being discriminated against throughout the legal system, from the High Court (where only 21% of judges are women) to female prisons (where 84% of inmates are held for non-violent offences despite the refrain that prison should only be used for violent or serious crime).
In between are the so-called ‘lifestyle’ choices of the Rotherham girls; the failings of the current rules on excluding victims’ sexual history from rape trials; battered wives being asked why they don’t ‘just leave’ their partners; the way statistics hide the double discrimination experienced by BAME and disabled women; the failure to prosecute cases of female genital mutilation… the list goes on.
The law holds up a mirror to society and it is failing women. The #MeToo campaign has been in part a reaction to those failures.
So what comes next? How do we codify what we’ve learned? In this richly detailed and shocking book, one of our most eminent human rights thinkers and practitioners shows with force and fury that change for women must start at the heart of what makes society just.
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MISJUSTICE | HELENA KENNEDY
Helena Kennedy, one of our most eminent lawyers and defenders of human rights, examines the pressing new evidence that women are being discriminated against when it comes to the law. From the shocking lack of female judges to the scandal of female prisons and the double discrimination experienced by BAME women, Kennedy shows with force and fury that change for women must start at the heart of what makes society just.
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FEMINIST FIGHT CLUB: A SURVIVAL MANUAL FOR A SEXIST WORKPLACE | JESSICA BENNETT
This is a call to arms.
Are you aged zero to infinity? Finished with the sexist status quo? Ready to kick ass and take names?
Welcome to the Feminist Fight Club. You have lifetime membership.
Feminist Fight Club provides an arsenal of weapons for surviving in an unequal world. You will learn how to fight micro-aggressions, correct unconscious bias, deal with male colleagues who can’t stop ‘manterrupting’ or ‘bro-propriating’ your ideas – and how to lean in without falling the f*ck over.
Every woman needs this book – and they needed it yesterday.
This is not a drill.
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LIFE LESSONS FROM REMARKABLE WOMEN | STYLIST
Stylist magazine has asked that question of remarkable women from the worlds of entertainment, politics, sport and fashion. With honesty, wit and a serious no-BS attitude, their lessons address the challenges every woman faces today, from climbing the career ladder and finding inner fulfilment, to forging authentic relationships and overcoming life’s setbacks.
Each of these impressive women, including actress Romola Garai and comedian Francesca Martinez, has a tale to tell and an experience to share. Empowering, engaging and unapologetically impassioned, their incisive observations will make you think, reflect – and kick serious ass. These are life lessons for women, by women.
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LITTLE BLACK BOOK | OTEGHA UWAGBA
Little Black Book: A Toolkit For Working Women is the modern career guide every creative woman needs, whether you’re just starting out or already have years of experience. Packed with fresh ideas and no-nonsense practical advice, this travel-sized career handbook is guaranteed to become your go-to resource when it comes to building the career you want.
Writer Otegha Uwagba (one of Forbes European 30 Under 30) takes you through everything you need to build a successful self-made career: from how to negotiate a payrise to building a killer personal brand, via a crash course in networking like a pro, and tips for overcoming creative block. Plus Little Black Book is full of indispensable advice on how to thrive as a freelancer, and an entire chapter dedicated to helping you master the tricky art of public speaking.
With contributions from trailblazing creative women including acclaimed author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Refinery29 co-founder Piera Gelardi, The Gentlewoman‘s Editor in Chief Penny Martin, and many more, Little Black Book is a curation of essential wisdom and hard-won career insights. Whether you’re a thinker, a maker, an artist or an entrepreneur, you’ll find plenty of inspiration for your working life here.
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GOOD AND MAD: THE REVOLUTIONARY POWER OF WOMEN’S ANGER | REBECCA TRAISTER
From Rebecca Traister, the New York Times bestselling author of All the Single Ladies comes a vital, incisive exploration into the transformative power of female anger and its ability to transcend into a political movement.
In the year 2018, it seems as if women’s anger has suddenly erupted into the public conversation. But long before Pantsuit Nation, before the Women’s March, and before the #MeToo movement, women’s anger was not only politically catalytic—but politically problematic. The story of female fury and its cultural significance demonstrates the long history of bitter resentment that has enshrouded women’s slow rise to political power in America, as well as the ways that anger is received when it comes from women as opposed to when it comes from men.
With eloquence and fervor, Rebecca tracks the history of female anger as political fuel—from suffragettes marching on the White House to office workers vacating their buildings after Clarence Thomas was confirmed to the Supreme Court. Here Traister explores women’s anger at both men and other women; anger between ideological allies and foes; the varied ways anger is perceived based on its owner; as well as the history of caricaturing and delegitimizing female anger; and the way women’s collective fury has become transformative political fuel—as is most certainly occurring today. She deconstructs society’s (and the media’s) condemnation of female emotion (notably, rage) and the impact of their resulting repercussions.
Highlighting a double standard perpetuated against women by all sexes, and its disastrous, stultifying effect, Traister’s latest is timely and crucial. It offers a glimpse into the galvanizing force of women’s collective anger, which, when harnessed, can change history.
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MEN EXPLAIN THINGS TO ME | REBECCA SOLNIT
Rebecca Solnit’s essay ‘Men Explain Things to Me’ has become a touchstone of the feminist movement, inspired the term ‘mansplaining’, and established Solnit as one of the leading feminist thinkers of our time – one who has inspired everyone from radical activists to Beyonce Knowles. Collected here in print for the first time is the essay itself, along with the best of Solnit’s feminist writings. From rape culture to mansplaining, from French sex scandals to marriage and the nuclear family, from Virginia Woolf to colonialism, these essays are a fierce and incisive exploration of the issues that a patriarchal culture will not necessarily acknowledge as ‘issues’ at all. With grace and energy, and in the most exquisite and inviting of prose, Rebecca Solnit proves herself a vital leading figure of the feminist movement and a radical, humane thinker.
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DEAR IJEAWELE: A FEMINIST MANIFESTO IN FIFTEEN SUGGESTIONS | CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE
A few years ago, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie received a letter from a dear friend from childhood, asking her how to raise her baby girl as a feminist. Dear Ijeawele is Adichie’s letter of response.
Here are fifteen invaluable suggestions–compelling, direct, wryly funny, and perceptive–for how to empower a daughter to become a strong, independent woman. From encouraging her to choose a helicopter, and not only a doll, as a toy if she so desires; having open conversations with her about clothes, makeup, and sexuality; debunking the myth that women are somehow biologically arranged to be in the kitchen making dinner, and that men can “allow” women to have full careers, Dear Ijeawele goes right to the heart of sexual politics in the twenty-first century. It will start a new and urgently needed conversation about what it really means to be a woman today.
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FAIR PLAY | EVE RODSKY
Do you find yourself taking on the lion’s share of all the thankless, invisible but time-consuming work in the home? FAIR PLAY is the first book that shows you that there can be a different way: a way to get more done, with less fuss, in a way that feels more balanced.
Eve Rodsky is changing society one relationship at a time, by coming up with a 21st-century solution to an age-old problem: women shouldering the brunt of domestic responsibilities, the mental load, the emotional labour. Everything that is required to keep the fridge full, the children’s homework in their bags, and the household running. The unequal division of all this invisible work in relationships is a recipe for disaster, but no one has offered a real solution to this dilemma, until now.
Eve Rodsky was tired of always being the one who has to remember to buy loo roll, or to book the family’s dentist appointments, or to send the thank you cards – all while working full time. So Eve decided to do what she does every day as an organisational management consultant: Organise. She conducted original research with more than 500 couples to figure out WHAT the invisible work in a family actually is and HOW to get it done effectively and all in a way that makes relationships even stronger. FAIR PLAY identifies the 100 main tasks in any relationship, and then divides those tasks fairly (not necessarily equally) so that both parties contribute their fair share.
If we don’t learn to rebalance our home life and reclaim some time to develop the skills and passions that keep us unique, then we risk losing our right to be interesting, not just to our partner, but to ourselves. Getting this right isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity for a happy, lasting partnership. Part how-to guide for couples, part modern relationship manifesto, FAIR PLAY offers an innovative system with a completely original lexicon to discuss how relationships actually work … and how we can make them work better.
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EVERYDAY SEXISM | LAURA BATES
‘If Caitlin Moran’s How To Be A Woman is the fun-filled manual for female survival in the 21st century, everyday sexism is its more politicised sister’ (Independent on Sunday).
After experiencing a series of escalating sexist incidents, Laura Bates started the everyday sexism project and has gone on to write ‘a pioneering analysis of modern day misogyny’ (Telegraph).
After an astounding response from the wide range of stories that came pouring in from all over the world, the project quickly became one of the biggest social media success stories of the internet. From being harassed and wolf-whistled at on the street, to discrimination in the workplace and serious sexual assault, it is clear that sexism had become normalised. But Bates inspires women to lead a real change and writes this ‘extremely powerful book that could, and should, win hearts and minds right across the spectrum’ (Financial Times).
Often shocking, sometimes amusing and always poignant, everyday sexism is a protest against inequality and a manifesto for change. It’s ‘a game-changing book, a must-read for every woman’ (Cosmopolitan).
‘Admirable and culturally transferable. “A storm is coming,” writes Bates. After reading this book you’ll hope so’ (Independent). Welcome to the fourth wave of feminism.
The Cerve 