The history of women’s rights is full of inspiring stories and important events. This list of seven books gives a clear and easy-to-understand look at the women’s rights movement. Each book covers different parts of this history, from the fight for voting rights to the struggle for fair treatment at work. Whether you are interested in learning about famous leaders or everyday heroes, these books provide a great introduction to the ongoing fight for women’s equality.
Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists: A Graphic History of Women’s Fight For Their Rights
By Mikki Kendall
Amazons, Abolitionists, and Activists: A Graphic History of Women’s Fight For Their Rights” (2019) by Mikki Kendall, with illustrations by D’Amico, is a graphic novel that tells the story of women’s ongoing struggle for rights. It covers key events and important figures from ancient times to today, highlighting the fight for voting rights, work, education, property ownership, and bodily autonomy. The book features notable women like queens, freedom fighters, warriors, and spies, and discusses movements led by women such as abolition, suffrage, labor, civil rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and reproductive rights.
The Women’s Suffrage Movement
By Sally Roesch Wagner
“The Women’s Suffrage Movement,” by Sally Roesch Wagner with a foreword by Gloria Steinem, is a unique anthology that celebrates the 2020 centennial of women’s right to vote. This book includes historical texts from the past two centuries, highlighting the contributions of both famous and overlooked women. It features writings by well-known suffragists like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, as well as accounts from Native American women, African American suffragists like Ida B. Wells, and the Forten sisters. The anthology covers 84 speeches, letters, articles, and essays, showcasing the voices and passion of the women who shaped the movement. It also addresses the racism within the movement and emphasizes the critical roles of African American and working-class women. With an introduction and afterword by Wagner, this book offers an inspiring and comprehensive look at the fight for women’s suffrage.
Suffrage: Women’s Long Battle For The Vote
by Ellen Carol DuBois
“Suffrage: Women’s Long Battle for the Vote” by Ellen Carol DuBois provides a comprehensive and vivid history of the women’s suffrage movement, from its early ties to the abolition of slavery with leaders like Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Sojourner Truth, through the post-Civil War struggles and the contributions of African American women such as Ida B. Wells-Barnett. The book details how suffragists built coalitions and strategized to secure voting rights, culminating in the challenging ratification in Tennessee. DuBois also explores how women leveraged their newfound rights to achieve political and social reforms, making this work an authoritative account of one of America’s significant democratic milestones.
The Agitators: Three Friends Who Fought for Abolition and Women’s Rights
by Dorothy Wickenden
“The Agitators,” an LA Times Best Book of the Year, Christopher Award Winner, and Chautauqua Prize Finalist, offers a riveting history of the mid-19th century through the lives of three women: Harriet Tubman, Frances Seward, and Martha Wright. Author Dorothy Wickenden, the executive editor of The New Yorker, explores their contributions to the abolitionist and women’s rights movements. Tubman’s daring rescues on the Underground Railroad, her work as a Union spy, Wright’s organization of women’s rights and anti-slavery conventions, and Seward’s behind-the-scenes political influence are all vividly portrayed. Rich with detailed letters and exhaustive research, this book highlights their impact on major events and figures, including Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, and the lasting effects of their fight for civil rights and emancipation.
Formidable: American Women and the Fight for Equality: 1920-2020
by Elisabeth Griffith
“Formidable,” described by Hillary Rodham Clinton as “an essential history,” chronicles the century-long struggle of Black and white women for equal rights. While the Nineteenth Amendment doubled the number of eligible voters, it didn’t enfranchise all women or protect their rights. Dr. Elisabeth Griffith highlights how Black women sought protection from racial violence and equality with whites, while white women aimed for parity with white men. This book provides a comprehensive view of their parallel and sometimes competing efforts to expand civil rights, improve maternal health, advance education and employment, and secure reproductive rights, showing the continued fight for equality into the present day.
Working 9 to 5: A Women’s Movement, a Labor Union, and the Iconic Movie
by Ellen Cassedy
“Working 9 to 5” by Ellen Cassedy tells the true story behind the movement that inspired the iconic comedy film. In the 1970s, Cassedy and nine other female office workers in Boston began meeting to discuss workplace issues, sparking a nationwide movement that united people of all backgrounds. Their activism led to significant victories, including making sexual harassment and pregnancy discrimination illegal, winning millions in back pay, and forming a woman-led union. This lively and informative memoir, a 2022 Sarton Awards Finalist and 2023 Independent Publisher Book Awards Gold Medalist, offers practical organizing insights and inspiration for anyone fighting for fair treatment at work.
The Family Roe: An American Story
By Joshua Prager
Family Roe: An American Story,” a 2021 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction, delves into the life of Norma McCorvey, also known as Jane Roe, the pivotal figure in the Roe v. Wade case. The book offers an intimate look at McCorvey’s upbringing in Louisiana and explores how unplanned pregnancies impacted the lives of many women before her. Through this narrative, Prager examines McCorvey’s complex activism both supporting and opposing abortion, as seen through the perspective of women’s rights activists.
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