A Woman's Work
Published on 2. February 2017
Book
Hardback
416 pages
978-0-241-27494-1 (ISBN)
Description
GUARDIAN AND NEW STATESMAN BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2017
'Compelling ... She has guts to spare ... An important story ... Role model? You bet' Tim Shipman, Sunday Times
'So human and inspiring, and my favourite book of the year so far' Rohan Silva, Guardian
When Harriet Harman started her career, men-only job adverts and a 'women's rate' of pay were the norm, female MPs were a tiny minority - a woman couldn't even sign for a mortgage. But, she argues, we should never just be grateful that things are better now. There's still more to do.
In A Woman's Work Harriet, Britain's longest-serving female MP, looks at her own life to see how far we've come, and where we should go next. This is an inspiring and refreshingly honest account of the part she has played (and the setbacks along the way) in the movement that transformed politics and women's lives - from helping striking female factory workers to standing for election while pregnant, from her memories of her own mother to her success in reforming the law on maternity rights, childcare, domestic violence and getting more women into parliament. But it is also a call for women today to get together and continue the fight for equality. If we don't, no one else will.
'Compelling ... She has guts to spare ... An important story ... Role model? You bet' Tim Shipman, Sunday Times
'So human and inspiring, and my favourite book of the year so far' Rohan Silva, Guardian
When Harriet Harman started her career, men-only job adverts and a 'women's rate' of pay were the norm, female MPs were a tiny minority - a woman couldn't even sign for a mortgage. But, she argues, we should never just be grateful that things are better now. There's still more to do.
In A Woman's Work Harriet, Britain's longest-serving female MP, looks at her own life to see how far we've come, and where we should go next. This is an inspiring and refreshingly honest account of the part she has played (and the setbacks along the way) in the movement that transformed politics and women's lives - from helping striking female factory workers to standing for election while pregnant, from her memories of her own mother to her success in reforming the law on maternity rights, childcare, domestic violence and getting more women into parliament. But it is also a call for women today to get together and continue the fight for equality. If we don't, no one else will.
Reviews / Votes
A personal memoir but also the story of women in politics and public life. Since Harriet entered parliament in 1982 - pregnant with her first child - she has seen the number of women MPs increase to more than 200. Many of us are there because of her -- Rachel Reeves, 'Books of the Year' * New Statesman * A Woman's Work is a fantastic and inspiring read which I would recommend to anyone interested in overcoming prejudice and promoting fairness. Over her 35 year career in Parliament no-one has fought harder or more effectively for gender equality than Harriet Harman. She is an outstanding role model -- John Bercow, Speaker of the House of Commons If I had a teenage daughter, especially one who didn't see the point of politics, this is the book I'd buy her. Chatty, accessible and occasionally eye-opening, it's a history of the things conventional political memoirs miss out - written by someone who built a career on things conventional politicians missed out ... [A Woman's Work is] a lively account of the one subject most political memoir writers know next to nothing about: how it felt to be a woman working in one of the least forgiving (and when she was elected in 1982, most macho) careers around -- Gaby Hinsliff * Guardian * Compelling ... She has guts to spare and is interesting on the difficulties of a work-life balance in parliament ... Her own judgments on her performance are commendably unsparing ... An important story ... Role model? You bet -- Tim Shipman, Political Editor * Sunday Times * The truth about Harriet, not often acknowledged, is that she is that rare politician who has consistently stood up to the powers that be, both Labour and in other parties. This book is a primer in what it takes to do that ... If I ever had doubts about Harriet's total devotion to the cause, I don't now ... There are wonderful vignettes of the clash between family and career ... It says everything that this book ends with Harriet offering us her ten top tips for the feminist struggle. The title is A Woman's Work and, as we know and especially for Harriet, it's never done -- Ann Treneman * The Times * A painfully honest memoir ... where lesser politicians would have slunk from public gaze, Harman reacted by getting tougher -- Mary Riddell * Sunday Telegraph * Countless blows have tempered Harman into something fearless and indestructible. Hell, why shouldn't this be her prime? -- Janice Turner * The Times * Fantastic - I can't recommend it highly enough * Open Labour * You can't go wrong with Harriet Harman's wonderful autobiography A Woman's Work - it's just so human and inspiring, and my favourite book of the year so far. -- Rohan Silva * Observer *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Penguin Books Ltd
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 162 mm
Thickness: 37 mm
Weight
725 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-241-27494-1 (9780241274941)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Harriet Harman was elected as Labour MP for Peckham in 1982. Joining a House of Commons which was 97% male, she had three children while in Parliament. She has been politics' most prominent champion for women's rights, introducing the National Childcare Strategy, the Equality Act and changing the law on domestic violence. She was the first woman to represent the Labour Party at Prime Minister's Questions.