Today is International Women’s Day – a day where we celebrate the social, economic, political and cultural achievements of women. It’s also a day where we all need to come together to call for equality for women across the globe. Gender equality has progressed over the last few decades, with more girls in education, fewer girls being forced into early marriage, and more women in positions of leadership. But there’s still a long way to go. Women continue to be underrepresented at all levels of political leadership, discriminatory laws and social norms are still pervasive in all cultures, and one-fifth of all women between the ages of 15-49 experience physical or sexual violence by a partner.
The recent pandemic has also caused setbacks to achieving global gender equality – there are more women than men responding to the virus as frontline health workers and carers. Women have been hit harder by the economic impacts of the pandemic, as there are more women than men working in insecure labour markets. And with lockdown measures in place, domestic violence has increased against girls and women.
This International Women’s Day, the theme is ‘Choose to Challenge’. Make the choice to call out things you think are unfair. Don’t stay silent. Speak up for yourself, for your friends, and for the women around the world whose voices aren’t heard.
If you are interested in learning more about gender inequality, feminism, or would like to read some incredible books written by women, then why not borrow one of these from the LRC:
Fiction:
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie WISE LRC
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood Filton LRC; Queen’s Road LRC
The Testaments by Margaret Atwood Stroud LRC
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Filton LRC
The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter WISE LRC
Things a Bright Girl Can Do by Sally Nicholls Filton LRC; Stroud LRC
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath Filton LRC; WISE LRC; Stroud LRC
White Teeth by Zadie Smith WISE LRC
The Color Purple by Alice Walker Filton LRC
Non-Fiction:
We Should All be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie WISE LRC
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou Stroud LRC
The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir WISE LRC
The Female Eunuch by Germaine Greer Stroud LRC
Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism by Bell Hooks WISE LRC
Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde WISE LRC
The Radium Girls by Kate Moore Filton LRC
Sex Object: A Memoir by Jessica Valenti Filton LRC
Living Dolls: The Return of Sexism by Natasha Walter Filton LRC
A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf Filton LRC
Poetry:
The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou by Maya Angelou Filton LRC; Stroud LRC
The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur Filton LRC
Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur Filton LRC
The Princess Saves Herself in This One by Amanda Lovelace Filton LRC
She is Fierce: Brave, Bold and Beautiful Poems by Women by Ana Sampson Filton LRC
Teaching my Mother How to Give Birth by Warsan Shire Filton LRC
If you have any questions or comments, or need help with anything LRC related, please do email, call, or pay a visit to your nearest SGS College LRC and we will be happy to help!
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