March is Women’s History Month, so what better time to pick up a book about women in history! So often women’s stories were pushed to the side or left out while the history textbooks have traditionally focused on men. I’ve pulled together a list of non-fiction books that share lesser-known women’s stories that I have read and recommend for Women’s History Month or any time of the year!

(This blog post includes affiliate links. If you choose to buy a product or service through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you!)

And now on to the list, check out these great non-fiction books that focus on women in history…

Give Her Credit: The Untold Account of a Women’s Bank That Empowered a Generation by Grace L. Williams

In the US, women weren’t legally allowed to have a bank account or credit card in their own names until the Equal Credit Opportunity Act was passed in 1974. But even once it was legal, it was still difficult for women to get a loan in the male-dominated world of banking and finance. Give Her Credit is the true story of a group of women in Denver who decided to open their own bank, one that would work with customers who are often discriminated against, like women and minorities.

The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women by Kate Moore

When radium was discovered, it was celebrated as a glowing wonder element. The Radium Girls tells the story of the women who worked in a factory using radium to create glowing watch faces for soldiers fighting in World War I. The women found the glowing paint infused with radium fascinating, but didn’t realize that the exposure to radium was deadly. After realizing their work had caused them severe health problems, they fought for compensation, brought light to the dangers of radium and advocated for workers rights.

The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold

Though Jack the Ripper was never identified, he was more famous for the brutal murders of five women in the late 1800s than any of the women themselves. It is a common belief that all of the women were “just prostitutes” but in this book Rubenhold challenges this view by telling of their lives as working-class women in Victorian London. If you want to read about the women’s horrendous deaths at the hand of Jack the Ripper, this isn’t the book for you. Instead, this book focuses on the women while they lived, immersing the reader into poor 19^th century London with well-researched detail.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

Henrietta Lacks was an African American woman who developed cervical cancer at the age of 30 and was treated at Johns Hopkins hospital. While treating her, the doctors took a sample of her tumor for testing – without her knowing or consent. Unlike most samples, Lacks’ cells didn’t die after a couple of days – instead it lived and continued to grow. And today, her cells, called HeLa cells, are used in labs around the world. This book tells the story of Henrietta Lacks and her family’s discovery 20 years after her death about her “immortal” cells.

A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II by Sonia Purnell

This book tells the story of an incredible American spy in World War II that most people have never heard of! Her name was Virginia Hall and her biography reads like an adventure thriller. At the start of WWII, she drove an ambulance rescuing injured French soldiers during the German invasion and from there she played many different roles in the resistance on the ground in France, becoming such a key player that the Nazis placed a bounty on her head. This well-written and thoroughly researched book uncovers the little known story of how one woman helped the allies win the war.

All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake by Tiya Miles

In this book, Tiya Miles tells the story of three generations of enslaved women, all linked together by a rough cotton bag, Ashley’s sack. The bag, now on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, was packed by Rose for her nine-year-old daughter Ashley just before the she was separated from her and sold. By examining the bag itself and the items packed inside, the author explores what life was like not only for this family across generations but for enslaved people during slavery in the American South.

Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Pérez

If you want to read a book that is going to make you want to throw it across the room, this is the one! It is an incredible and eye-opening book that will make you angry to realize just how much of our society has been designed for men. Unlike the other books on this list that focus on one woman or one time in history, this book dives into the gender data gap in many different aspects of everyday life, exploring various topics from medical research to public transportation to academia. It’s been several years since I read this book, and I still think about it!

And those are my 7 recommendations for non-fiction about women’s history! What other books would you recommend for Women’s History Month (or any time of year!)?

Like this post? Pin it for later…