Memoirs by Women for International Women’s Day

Today is International Women’s Day and the theme this year is #EqualforEach. That means a gender equal world in the boardroom, government, and the media. That also means the books we read.

Unfortunately, women authors are not yet considered equal. In a study of books published between 2002 and 2012, books that were written by women were priced 45 percent less than books by men. Even accounting for differences, such as more women writing romance, which is sometimes priced lower than male-dominated genres like science, authors with female names were paid 9 percent lower. The study also saw differences, though less, in self-published and independently published books.

Five Memoirs by Women Authors

If you are looking to support women authors, I suggest starting with these five of my favorite recent reads.

1. I Am, I Am, I Am by Maggie O’ Farrell talks about her seventeen brushes with death, but I think it’s really about the things that almost happen.
2. All You Can Ever Know by Nicole Chung talks about what it’ like to be Korean and be adopted by white parents and the racism and alienation she faced growing up in suburban Oregon.
3. The Art of Misdiagnosis by Gayle Brandeis speaks to what it’s like to love someone with mental illness and as readers, we read to learn how the writer processed what happened.
4. Maid by Stephanie Land is about what it’s like to be the invisible worker who makes others’ lives better.
5. Starting with Goodbye by Lisa Romeo looks at the relationship between father and daughter and all she missed while he was alive.

Are You a Creative Female?

If you are a creative female be sure to check out International Women’s Day Creative Mission which is working to increase the visibility of women creatives and promote their work for commercial projects.