Women's History Month Reading List
This month is Women’s History Month, so we gathered some book recommendations from our Owlchemy Owls. Every book on the list is authored by a woman, and we’ve included a variety of genres across fiction and nonfiction.
Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men
by Caroline Criado Pérez
“Data is fundamental to the modern world. From economic development, to healthcare, to education and public policy, we rely on numbers to allocate resources and make crucial decisions. But because so much data fails to take into account gender, because it treats men as the default and women as atypical, bias and discrimination are baked into our systems. And women pay tremendous costs for this bias, in time, money, and often with their lives.”
- blurb from Goodreads
Nonfiction, Sociology
The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love
by bell hooks
“In The Will to Change, bell hooks gets to the heart of the matter and shows men how to express the emotions that are a fundamental part of who they are—whatever their age, marital status, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. But toxic masculinity punishes those fundamental emotions, and it’s so deeply ingrained in our society that it’s hard for men to not comply—but hooks wants to help change that.”
- blurb from Goodreads
Nonfiction, Philosophy
Transgender History
by Susan Stryker
Covering American transgender history from the mid-twentieth century to today, Transgender History takes a chronological approach to the subject of transgender history, with each chapter covering major movements, writings, and events. Chapters cover the transsexual and transvestite communities in the years following World War II; trans radicalism and social change, which spanned from 1966 with the publication of The Transsexual Phenomenon, and lasted through the early 1970s; the mid-'70s to 1990-the era of identity politics and the changes witnessed in trans circles through these years; and the gender issues witnessed through the '90s and '00s.
- blurb from Goodreads
Nonfiction, History
Grace Hopper: Queen of Computer Code
by Laurie Wallmark
“If you’ve got a good idea, and you know it’s going to work, go ahead and do it.” The picture book biography of Grace Hopper—the boundary-breaking woman who revolutionized computer science.
Who was Grace Hopper? A software tester, workplace jester, cherished mentor, ace inventor, avid reader, naval leader—AND rule breaker, chance taker, and troublemaker. Grace Hopper coined the term “computer bug” and taught computers to “speak English,” and throughout her life succeeded in doing what no one had ever done before. Delighting in difficult ideas and in defying expectations, the insatiably curious Hopper truly is “Amazing Grace” . . . and a role model for science- and math-minded girls and boys.
- blurb from Goodreads
Nonfiction, Biography
The following book recommendations we have flagged as having content warnings, so please investigate before picking one up to make sure it is the right fit for you!
