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Non-Fiction Books About Women in History

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While we created this list of books in honor of Women’s History Month, these female history books are great reads all year round! If you’re ever feeling like you need an extra dose of motivation, read about these extraordinary trailblazing women. They broke barriers and paved the way for the rest of us in so many different fields.

Three diagonal book covers of Code Girls, Highest Glass Ceiling, and Lighting the Fire of Freedom

Gender Equality & Trailblazing Women

As of March 2023, women make up 50% of the population. However, they hold only 28% of the seats in the US Congress, 28% of science and engineering jobs, and, most shocking, only 10% of the Fortune 500 CEO jobs. The numbers drop even further when you incorporate race. Less than 1% of the CEOs are black women, which demonstrates the double barrier so many face.

Thankfully, progress continues. While it’s taken countless women trailblazers in male-dominated fields, we were thrilled to see that there are now slightly more women than men enrolled in both law school and medical school.

So, this month, take a moment of gratitude for all of those women who broke ground before us. So many of their names will never be known. There is still work to be done, and we hope the history on this list encourages you to be active in support of causes important to you.

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The Best Non-Fiction Women’s History Month Books to Read in 2023

More Books for Women’s History Month

If you’re looking for more women’s history month stories, including memoirs, historical fiction, and contemporary fiction options, we always include as many strong female leads as we can on each of our book lists, whether it’s books set in different decades or books set around the world. Additionally, our Books Like City of Girls, Books for Fans of the Nightingale, and WW2 Resistance Worker book recommendations are especially heavy on amazing woman characters.

Collage image of book covers of Fly Girls, Wake, And The Highest Glass Ceiling

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Ann

Saturday 2nd of July 2022

I loved The Astronauts Wives Club. As a fan of The Right Stuff, it was wonderful to read about the wives of the Mercury Seven and how they handled the pressure of having husbands who pioneered space travel.

Kathy Coaker

Sunday 6th of March 2022

What a great list! I have read several but plenty more to add to the TBR list!

Candace Morton

Saturday 5th of March 2022

Hidden Figures and The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks were both fantastic books. Thank you for putting this list together. Several of these will go on my TBR list.

Kristi

Friday 4th of March 2022

I just finished {The Women with Silver Wings}. Very good. Another one that made me simultaneously thrilled and angry. {Radium Girls} and the cruelty involved made me sick to my stomach. Very good, very difficult read.

Jaci E

Friday 4th of March 2022

Sisters in Laws is a fascinating book about Sandra Day O’Conner and Ruth Bader Ginsberg. I remember when each woman taking the Oath and literally crying. This book is very enlightening about not only these two remarkable women, but how the Supreme Court works in American government. Definitely highly recommend.