March 4, 2024 – The theme for Women's History Month 2024 is "Women who Advocate for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion," and Materials Librarian Allison Zordell curated a list of nonfiction reflecting this theme.
"This month recognizes women who understand that bias and discrimination – in any form – must be eliminated for a positive future. Women from every background have long realized that an uneven playing field will never bring equality or justice. Many feel the critical need to speak up and work harder for fairness in our institutions and social interactions," she said.
"These books are just a small sample illustrating how women are leveling the playing field for everyone. For more information on Women's History Month, visit the National Women's History Alliance's website."
Browse the book list below, and click on covers to put titles on hold in our catalog. Book descriptions are excerpted from the library catalog and publisher information.
"Unlearning Silence: How to Speak Your Mind, Unleash Talent, and Live More Fully," by Elaine Lin Hering (2024)
In "Unlearning Silence," Hering explores how we've learned to be silent, how we've benefited from silence, how we've silenced other people – and how we might choose another way. She teaches how to recognize and unlearn unconscious patterns so we can make more intentional choices about how we want to show up at home and at work. Only by unlearning silence can we more fully unleash talent, speak our minds, and be more complete versions of ourselves ... and help other people do the same.
"What Can a Body Do?: How We Meet the Built World" by Sara Hendren (2020)
A fascinating and provocative new way of looking at the things we use and the spaces we inhabit, and an invitation to imagine a better-designed world for us all.
"Lady Justice: Women, the Law, and the Battle to Save America" by Dahlia Lithwick (2022)
Dahlia Lithwick, one of the nation's foremost legal commentators, tells the story of many women lawyers. There was Sally Yates, the acting attorney general of the United States, who refused to sign off on the Muslim travel ban. And Becca Heller, the founder of a refugee assistance program who brought the fight over the travel ban to the airports. And Roberta Kaplan, the famed commercial litigator, who sued the neo-Nazis in Charlottesville. And, of course, Stacey Abrams, whose efforts to protect the voting rights of millions of Georgians may well have been what won the Senate for the Democrats in 2020.
"Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to be an Ally" by Emily Ladau (2021)
A guide for how to be a thoughtful, informed ally to disabled people, with actionable steps for what to say and do (and what not to do) and how you can help make the world a more accessible place.
"Fair Play" by Eve Rodsky (2019)
Rodsky interviewed more than five hundred men and women from all walks of life to figure out what the invisible work in a family actually entails and how to get it all done efficiently. With four easy-to-follow rules, 100 household tasks, and a series of conversation starters for you and your partner, "Fair Play" helps you prioritize what's important to your family and who should take the lead on every chore from laundry to homework to dinner. "Winning" this game means rebalancing your home life, reigniting your relationship with your significant other, and reclaiming your Unicorn Space — as in, the time to develop the skills and passions that keep you interested and interesting.
"The Fifth Trimester: The Working Mom's Guide to Style, Sanity, and Big Success After Baby" by Lauren Smith Brody (2017)
Presents a guide for new moms coping with the demands of the real world after childbirth, offering advice on everything from returning to work and maintaining a work/life balance to breastfeeding and obtaining childcare.
"Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do" by Jennifer L. Eberhardt (2019)
You don't have to be racist to be biased. Unconscious bias can be at work without our realizing it, and even when we genuinely wish to treat all people equally, ingrained stereotypes can infect our visual perception, attention, memory, and behavior. This has an impact on education, employment, housing, and criminal justice. In "Biased," Jennifer Eberhardt shows us the subtle – and sometimes dramatic – daily repercussions of implicit bias in how teachers grade students, or managers deal with customers. It has an enormous impact on the conduct of criminal justice, from the rapid decisions police officers have to make to sentencing practices in court. Eberhardt offers practical suggestions for reform and new practices that are useful for organizations as well as individuals. In "Biased," Eberhardt reminds us that racial bias is a human problem – one all people can play a role in solving.
"Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents" by Isabel Wilkerson (2020)
The Pulitzer Prize-winning, bestselling author of "The Warmth of Other Suns" examines the unspoken caste system that has shaped America and shows how people's lives today are still defined by a hierarchy of human divisions.
"Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution" by Cat Bohannon (2023)
With boundless curiosity and sharp wit, Bohannon covers the past 200 million years to explain the specific science behind the development of the female sex. Bohannon's findings, including everything from the way C-sections in the industrialized world are rejiggering women's pelvic shape to the surprising similarities between pus and breast milk, will completely change what you think you know about evolution ... and women.
"Life on Other Planets: A Memoir of Finding My Place in the Universe" by Aomawa L. Shields (2023)
This memoir charts the life of Dr. Aomawa Shields as an astronomer, classically-trained actor, mother, and Black woman in STEM as she searches for life in the universe while building a meaningful life here on Earth.
"Legacy: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine" by Uche Blackstock (2024)
Part searing indictment of our healthcare system, part generational family memoir, part call to action, a physician and thought leader on bias and racism in healthcare recounts her journey to finally seizing her own power as a health equity advocate against the backdrop of the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement.
"The Beauty in Breaking: A Memoir" by Michele Harper (2020)
A series of connected personal stories drawn from the author's life and work as an ER doctor that explores how we are all broken – physically, emotionally, and psychically – and what we can do to heal ourselves as we try to heal others.
