Books, books, books! Recommendations for Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day 2025

This March members of the UCL community were invited to recommend books in celebration of Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day.

Some of you took inspiration from the national theme for Women’s History Month - "Moving Forward Together! Women Educating and Inspiring Generations". Others focused on "Accelerating Action", the national theme for International Women’s Day, which calls for urgency in addressing the systemic barriers faced by women. Or you ditched the themes altogether, sharing books that celebrate, educate or inspire by telling diverse stories about women.

We hope one (or more!) of the titles in this list catches your eye. Remember, any of the books recommended that aren’t already in UCL’s collection will be acquired so you’ll be able to borrow them from the library in future.

Let us know how many you’ve read, and you can still share your own recommendations through the online form or on Instagram. 

Celebrating women educators

Women Curriculum Theorists: Power, Knowledge and Subjectivity by Sandra Leaton Gray and David Scott

“It covers a greatly neglected area of curriculum theory including the biographies of some remarkable high impact women we don’t always know much about.”

Institute of Education, staff

Bananas, Beaches and Bases by Cynthia Enloe

“It’s such a beautifully written piece on the materiality of the gender constructions, must read for anyone - but especially politics/econ/history/international relations students.”

Vanrika Satyan, International Social and Political Studies, student

The Descent of Woman by Elaine Morgan

“Most people have heard, can quote or refer to the Descent of Man by Charles Darwin, and I would still recommend that everyone reads this, I would say you also have to read the Descent of Women to have a more complete picture. This was the first book I ever read where the idea was women did anything (in this case evolve) for their own reasons and not to please or make life better for someone else (men).”

Rachel, Campus Experience and Infrastructure, staff

Reminding us why we need to accelerate action towards gender equality

My Dear Kabul: Twenty-one Afghan Women. Twelve Months. One Group Chat by Untold Narratives CIC

“Because we desperately need to talk about Afghan women. #FreeAfghanWomen  #EndGenderApartheid”

Staff

Breaking stiff Boundaries by Omoleye Ojuri

“An inspiring novella about the adventurous journey of a young woman from the Global South in breaking several barriers in achieving her educational goals.”

Omoleye Esan-Ojuri, Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction, staff

Giving Up the Ghost by Hilary Mantel

“Giving Up the Ghost is a beautifully written autobiography by the critically acclaimed author Hilary Mantel. I wanted to recommend it because of the way she describes her experience of endometriosis which, due to medical misunderstandings and neglect, resulted in severe chronic pain and the loss of the ability to have children. It really opened my eyes to the extent of medical misogyny, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to read a first-hand account of how this affected one woman’s life. Plus, to become a global bestselling author and the first female author to win the Booker Prize twice, despite her medical challenges - I was very inspired.”

Naomi, Library, Culture, Collections and Open Science, staff

Beyond the themes

Unfortunately She Was a Nymphomaniac by Joan Smith

“Joan Smith's new book has had plaudits everywhere from the Times Literary Supplement to the Daily Mail. She uncovers the violent misogyny suffered by women in ancient Rome, bringing a feminist perspective to stories which have previously been told from a male perspective. Joan gave an inspiring talk on her book at UCL to celebrate International Women's Day”.

Alice Sullivan, Social Research Institute, staff

“It's an amazing update on a lot of the standard views of women in ancient Rome.”

Julia Shumway, Institute of Child Health, research student

A Woman in Berlin by Anonymous

“It highlights the strength and mental resilience of women under extreme pressure.”

Seamus Woolven, Workplace Health, staff

Penwoman by Elin Wägner (translated from the Swedish by Sarah Death)

“This 1910 novel about the Swedish women’s suffrage movement has a young female journalist as the central character. It is a witty and refreshingly disrespectful story that paints a vivid picture of dedicated work and a strong sense of sisterhood and explores a range of issues affecting the situation of women at the time.”

Sarah Death, Scandinavian Studies

In the Shadow of the Mountain by Silvia Vasquez-Lavado

“It's a really unusual and wide-ranging memoir by Peruvian author Silvia Vasquez-Lavado, who over many years processes the impact of childhood trauma to become a successful mountaineer working with young female survivors of sexual violence. It's not always an easy read, but feels deeply personal and is brilliant at sensitively exploring shame, power and self-image, and unpicking the varied reasons people are compulsively drawn to mountains.”

Helen Carney, Library, Collections, Culture and Open Science, staff

On Women by Susan Sontag

“Sontag's discussions of contemporary feminist issues and power dynamics, are increasingly relevant for today's changing world.”

Ishita Chauhan, Department of Earth Sciences, student

Beyond the Threshold. Women, Houses and Cities by Zaida Muxí Martínez

“It is a revision of history of architecture and cities based on women.”

On Taking Offence by Emily McTernan

“Emily defends the act of taking offence (and letting people know about it) as a morally and socially important thing, that allows us to push against inequality and resist the day-to-day patterning of social hierarchies. Women have often struggled with expressing offence (the "angry woman"), but Emily's book puts it into a whole new light. It encourages us to take offence at the right things, in the right way, to help build a more equal society.”

Eleanor Kingwell-Banham, Political Science, staff

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

“Without giving too much away, it makes you question so much about the depth of love, what it can overlook and what it cannot; it tests your commitment and ideas about what it might mean to stay and accept wrongdoing whilst some parts you may not be able to answer - there are huge questions around morality, justice and forgiveness.”

Rakiya, Central Admissions, staff

Three Women by Lisa Taddeo

“It will probably resonate with all women who read it as the characters come from such a varied walk of life and it is so complex and layered that the emotions draw you in! It makes you ask questions: Do I deserve more? Should I compromise? What's in it for me? Is this wrong or right, and according to whom?”

Rakiya, Central Admissions, staff

I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron

“If you're looking for something lighthearted, this is a really readable book by a very funny woman. For those who don't know, Nora Ephron wrote When Harry Met Sally, and many other iconic films, mostly romcoms, from the 80s, 90s and early 00s. I Feel Bad About My Neck is a collection of writings by Ephron on being a woman. They vary in length, but none is very long, and she writes in such a conversational way you'll barely feel like you're reading at all. I guarantee if you start this book, you'll finish it in a night (or maybe two).”

Lucy MacEwan, Library, Culture, Collections and Open Science, staff

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in UCL Library, Culture, Collections and Open Science

This activity was organised through the Library Liberating the Collections Group. The purpose of this group is to identify and oversee progress with a strategic set of actions intended to enrich the collections, increasing visibility of, and access to, works by authors who have been marginalised (and thus less heard) because of factors such as race, sexuality, gender and disability. Any titles that we don’t already own we will buy and add to our collections and will be available shortly.