Women Reps Reading List

Easy to Read / Introductory

  • We Should All Be Feminists – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
    A short, powerful essay adapted from her TEDx talk, explaining feminism in accessible terms and why it matters for everyone.
  • Girl, Woman, Other – Bernardine Evaristo
    Follows 12 interconnected Black British women across generations, exploring race, gender, and class in modern Britain.
  • Made in Dagenham – Inspired by the 1968 strike
    The story of women machinists at Ford fighting for equal pay. Available in film, book, and educational formats.
  • Invisible Women – Caroline Criado Perez
    Reveals how data bias affects women in everything from healthcare to urban planning. A must-read for policy-minded reps.

Intermediate / Historical & Feminist Perspectives

  • Women Workers and the Trade Unions – Sarah Boston
    A comprehensive history of women’s involvement in UK unions, from the 19th century to the present.
  • Helen Taylor and Her Fight for the People – Janet Smith
    Biography of a forgotten Victorian feminist and labour activist who ran for Parliament in 1885.
  • Women, Race & Class – Angela Y. Davis
    Explores how race and class intersect with gender in the history of feminism and labour movements.
  • Why Women Are Poorer Than Men and What We Can Do About It – Annabelle Williams
    A UK-focused exposé on the gender wealth gap and its structural causes.
  • Hood Feminism – Mikki Kendall
    Critiques mainstream feminism for ignoring issues like poverty, housing, and education that affect marginalised women.
  • Hidden from History – Sheila Rowbotham

A classic socialist feminist study tracing 300 years of women’s oppression and activism in Britain, with a strong focus on class, work, and trade unionism.

  • Material Girls – Michèle Barrett

A Marxist-feminist analysis of how gender and the family-household system operate within capitalism, challenging traditional views of women’s roles and advocating for structural change.

Advanced / Analytical & Radical Feminism

  • Caliban and the Witch – Silvia Federici
    A Marxist-feminist analysis of how capitalism shaped gender roles, especially through witch hunts and reproductive control.
  • The Second Sex – Simone de Beauvoir
    A foundational feminist text examining how women have been historically defined as “the Other”.
  • Feminism. Now. – Angela Davis et al.
    Argues that feminism and abolition (of prisons and police) are deeply interconnected struggles.
  • Against White Feminism – Rafia Zakaria
    Challenges the dominance of white voices in feminism and calls for a more inclusive, global movement.
  • Life As We Have Known It – Edited by Margaret Llewelyn Davies
    First-hand accounts from working-class women in the Co-operative movement.

Films Featuring Female Trade Union Reps

  1. Norma Rae (1979)

Starring: Sally Field

Description: Based on the true story of Crystal Lee Sutton, a textile worker who becomes a union organiser in North Carolina. A landmark film in portraying female leadership in union activism.

Link for trailer/clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNuiAyZZb_4

  1. Made in Dagenham (2010)

Starring: Sally Hawkins

Description: The 1968 strike by women sewing machinists at Ford’s Dagenham plant, which led to the UK’s Equal Pay Act. A powerful story of gender equality and union action.

Link for full movie:  https://archive.org/details/Made.in.Dagenham.2010.DVDRip.XviDLarceny.cd1_201906

  1. Salt of the Earth (1954)

Starring: Rosaura Revueltas

Description: Based on a real miners’ strike in New Mexico, this film highlights the critical role of women—wives and daughters—in sustaining the strike and demanding dignity.

Link for full movie: https://archive.org/details/SaltOfTheEarth_735

  1. North Country (2005)

Starring: Charlize Theron

Description: A fictionalised account of the first major successful sexual harassment lawsuit in the U.S. The film explores union dynamics and the challenges faced by women in male-dominated industries.

Link for trailer/clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AinE6s_pgg

  1. Harlan County, USA (1976) – Documentary

Directed by: Barbara Kopple

Plot: Oscar-winning documentary about a violent coal miners’ strike in Kentucky. Features strong female voices, including wives of miners who played key roles in the struggle.

Link for trailer/clip: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9dnim0

  1. 9 to 5 (1980)

Starring: Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton

Plot: A comedic but sharp critique of workplace sexism and inequality. While not a union film per se, it was inspired by real-life women’s workplace organising efforts.

Link for trailer/Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOm6MRNTrFw

  1. Pride (2014)

Starring: Imelda Staunton, Jessica Gunning

Description: Based on the true story of LGBTQ activists supporting striking Welsh miners. Features strong female characters in both communities working together for justice.

Link for trailer/clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khbz4ncVY9o

  1. Here We Go (1985)

Produced by: Banner Film and Television

Description: Documents women’s involvement in the miners’ strike, including powerful scenes of protest and arrest.

Link for trailer/clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82oUndVzWgc

  1. Night cleaners (1975)

Directed by: Berwick Street Film Collective

Description: Experimental documentary about women cleaners working night shifts and their struggle to unionise.

Link for trailer/clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rybVqEXOI4Q

  1. Major, the Miners and Me (1993)

Produced by: BBC Video Diaries

Description: Brenda Nixon of Women Against Pit Closures documents the miners’ dispute and its impact on her family.

Link for trailer/clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvayWAHjYOg

  1. Grunwick Strike (1976–1978)

Starring: Jayaben Desai (real-life figure)

Description: A pivotal industrial dispute in North London led by South Asian women workers at the Grunwick film processing plant. The strike demanded union recognition and exposed racial and gender inequalities in British labour. Jayaben Desai became an iconic figure in trade union history, challenging both management and traditional union leadership.

Link for trailer/clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVDJwE6cVmA

CWU resources and video interviewing Colin Molony (CWU ex Cricklewood branch chair) https://education.cwu.org/course/the-grunwick-dispute-1976-1978/