Women's History

March is Women's History Month. Check out these stories of amazing women and their contributions and successes.

Updated March 6, 2025
Drag items up and down to your preferred order then select the "Save Order" button.
The enigma girls : how ten teenagers broke ciphers, kept secrets, and helped win World War II
Fleming, Candace
Paper Book
A Robert F. Sibert Honor Book. With numerous starred reviews and accolades, from award-winning author Candace Fleming, comes the powerful and fascinating story of the brave and dedicated young women who helped turn the tides of World War II for the Allies, with their hard work and...
Brave the wild river : the untold story of two women who mapped the botany of the Grand Canyon
Sevigny, Melissa L.
Paper Book
In the summer of 1938, botanists Elzada Clover and Lois Jotter set off to run the Colorado River, accompanied by an ambitious and entrepreneurial expedition leader, a zoologist, and two amateur boatmen. With its churning waters and treacherous boulders, the Colorado was famed as the most...
Better, faster, farther : how running changed everything we know about women
Mertens, Maggie
Paper Book
*NATIONAL BESTSELLER* "From foot-binding to corsets, patriarchal societies have found ways to immobilize women, but now, marathoners and Olympians are proving that women can run like the wind!" --GLORIA STEINEM "A look behind the curtain that all women who love...
How women made music : a revolutionary history from NPR Music
Fensterstock, Alison
Paper Book
Drawn from NPR Music's acclaimed, groundbreaking series Turning the Tables, the definitive book on the vital role of Women in Music--from Beyoncé to Odetta, Taylor Swift to Joan Baez, Joan Jett to Dolly Parton--featuring archival interviews, essays, photographs, and illustrations.<...
The Cleopatras : the forgotten queens of Egypt
Llewellyn-Jones, Lloyd
Paper Book
The definitive story of the seven Cleopatras, the powerful goddess-queens of ancient Egypt   One of history's most iconic figures, Cleopatra is rightly remembered as a clever and charismatic ruler. But few today realize that she was the last in a long line...
Woman, life, freedom
Satrapi, Marjane
Paper Book
Winner, ALA ALEX Award An urgent, groundbreaking and visually stunning new collection of graphic storytelling about the present Iranian revolution, using comics to show what would be censored in photos and film in Iran. Marjane Satrapi, author of Persepolis,...
When women ran Fifth Avenue : glamour and power at the dawn of American fashion
Satow, Julie
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A glittering portrait of the golden age of American department stores and of three visionary women who led them, from the award-winning author of The Plaza. A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: Vogue, Smithsonian, New York Post,...
The queens of animation : the untold story of the women who transformed the world of Disney and made cinematic history
Holt, Nathalia
Paper Book
From the bestselling author of Rise of the Rocket Girls, the untold, "richly detailed" story of the women of Walt Disney Studios, who shaped the iconic films that have enthralled generations (Margot Lee Shetterly, New York Times bestselling author of Hidden Figures...
Our brave foremothers : celebrating 100 black, brown, Asian, & indigenous women who changed the course of history
Kennedy, Rozella
Paper Book
Inspired by her own foremothers' legacies and the friendships formed throughout her life, Rozella Kennedy centers and celebrates the stories of 100 Black, Brown, Asian, and Indigenous women--both famous and little-known--who changed the course of US history.  
The woman who split the atom : Lise Meitner
Moss, Marissa
Paper Book
As a female Jewish physicist in Berlin during the early 20th century, Lise Meitner had to fight for an education, a job, and equal treatment in her field, like having her name listed on her own research papers. Meitner made groundbreaking strides in the study of radiation, but when...
An equal shot : how the law title IX changed America
Becker, Helaine
Paper Book
"The book we needed right now." --Betsy Bird, A Fuse #8 Production Helaine Becker's An Equal Shot is a nonfiction picture book introduction to the history and importance of Title IX as civil rights legislature, featuring illustrations by Dow Phumiruk.
Grace Banker and her Hello Girls answer the call : the heroic story of WWI telephone operators
Friddell, Claudia
Paper Book
Led by twenty-five-year-old Grace Banker, thirty-two telephone operators - affectionately called "Hello Girls" back in the US - became the first female combatants in World War I. Follow Grace Banker's journey from her busy life as a telephone switchboard trainer in New York to...
Sisters in science : Marie Curie, Bronia Dluska, and the atomic power of sisterhood
Marshall, Linda Elovitz
Paper Book
Discover the fascinating true story of Nobel Prize winner Marie Curie and her sister Bronia, two trailblazing women who worked together and made a legendary impact on chemistry and health care as we know it. Marie Curie has long been a well-known name around the world. Though...
Valiant women : the extraordinary American servicewomen who helped win World War II
Andrews, Lena S.
Paper Book
National Bestseller * Goodreads Choice Awards Finalist A groundbreaking new history of the role of American servicewomen in WWII, illuminating their forgotten yet essential contributions to the Allies' victory, hailed as "an ingenious look at WWII" (Publishers Weekly, Starred Review) ...
Climate champions : 15 women fighting for your future
Sarah, Rachel
Paper Book
These 15 contemporary climate champions are on the frontlines of science to create a sustainable future on Earth. They are climate scientists, journalists, professors, academics, researchers, and policy makers from around the world who draft policies with real-world...
I swear : politics is messier than my minivan
Porter, Katie
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER . From the 2026 Democratic candidate for governor of California, a "high-octane, no-bullshit" (The New Republic) memoir about re-energizing our politics and standing up to corporate America-while carting three kids around in a minivan. ...
When women ruled the world : six queens of Egypt
Cooney, Kara
Paper Book
This riveting narrative explores the lives of six remarkable female pharaohs, from Hatshepsut to Cleopatra--women who ruled with real power--and shines a piercing light on our own perceptions of women in power today. Female rulers are a rare phenomenon--but thousands of years ago...
The fabulous Fannie Farmer : kitchen scientist and America's cook
Smith, Emma Bland
Paper Book
ALSC Notable Children's Book CCBC Choices 2025 A NSTA-CBC Best STEM Book 2025 Texas Topaz List 2025 Rise- A Feminist Book Project Title Fannie Farmer, America's most famous cooking teacher, discovers that precise measurements are a recipe for cooking success...
The woman in the moon : how Margaret Hamilton helped fly the first astronauts to the moon
Maurer, Richard
Paper Book
A stunning and intimate biography of Margaret Hamilton, the computer engineer who helped Apollo 11 and mankind get from the Earth to the moon. First-hand accounts, exclusive interviews with the legendary Margaret Hamilton, and detailed science populate the pages of this...
First things first : hip-hop ladies who changed the game
Simmons, Nadirah
Paper Book
This enlightening book reframes the history of hip-hop--and this time, women are given credit for all their trailblazing achievements that have left an undeniable impact on music.  FIRST THINGS FIRST, hip-hop is not just the music, and women have played a big...
Shakespeare's sisters : how women wrote the Renaissance
Targoff, Ramie
Paper Book
A BOSTON GLOBE BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR * This remarkable work about women writers in the English Renaissance explodes our notion of the Shakespearean period by drawing us into the lives of four women who were committed to their craft long before anyone ever imagined the possibility of...
A greater goal : the epic battle for equal pay in women's soccer-and beyond
Rusch, Elizabeth
Paper Book
More than 250 women have played on the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team, and most contributed to the battle for equal pay. This narrative nonfiction book by the award-winning author and journalist Elizabeth Rusch traces the evolution of that fight, bringing this important rights...
The cure for women : Dr. Mary Putnam Jacobi and the challenge to Victorian medicine that changed women's lives forever
Reeder, Lydia
Paper Book
"Valiant and timely .... reintroduces its subject as a hero for this moment." ―The New York Times How Victorian male doctors used false science to argue that women were unfit for anything but motherhood--and the brilliant doctor who defied them ...
Girls to the front : 40 Asian American women who blazed a trail
Mata, Nina
Paper Book
Stand back, the girls are coming through: Learn about forty amazing Asian American women who have changed the course of history! From the big stage to the US Navy, from laboratories to the boardroom, from the Olympics to the pages in books, these girls and women lead every...

Library staff! You can create and contribute to lists. Contact your catalog administrator or log in here.