Financial Feminist Fall Reading List

As we head into the winter months, you know what that means: it’s time to hunker down and hibernate. There’s nothing like curling up with a good book to keep you company indoors... Bonus points if it stirs up something in you to change how you see and participate in today’s economy.

Because it’s about time we break through the “traditional” environment, power new wealth creation, and bring about essential social change—no?

Need recommendations on what to pick up to learn a little something about building a women-led future? From biases we’ve faced in different industries to learning how to lead with our superpowers, here are a few financial feminist books that some of The51 team has been reading lately.

As you add these books to your TBR (to be read) list, remember that financial feminism is so much deeper—and much more interesting—than just one topic. Financial feminism and learning to build a better, fairer future for our economy is about industries, economic systems, entrepreneurial stories, and basically everything else that shapes our current and future world.

Doing Harm: The Truth About How Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and Sick

By Maya Dusenbery

“Modern medicine is failing women. Half of all American women suffer from at least one chronic health condition—from autoimmune disorders and asthma to depression and Alzheimer's disease—and the numbers are increasing. A wealth of research has revealed that women often exhibit different symptoms than their male counterparts, suffer disproportionately from many debilitating conditions, and may react differently to prescription drugs and other therapies. Yet more than twenty years after the law decreed that women be included in all health-related research and drug development, doctors are still operating with a lingering knowledge gap when it comes to women's health.”

Takeaways:

• Gender bias in medical research: There’s been pervasive gender bias in medical research and healthcare, where women's experiences and symptoms are often misunderstood, overlooked, or dismissed.

• Diagnostic delays and misdiagnosis: Women face significant delays in receiving accurate diagnoses for their medical conditions, leading to prolonged suffering and poorer health outcomes. Think: improperly addressed chronic pain cases and misdiagnosed autoimmune diseases.

• The need for advocacy and change: Here’s to women being advocates for our own health, calling for more equitable and accurate healthcare for women, and pushing for reform.

Glossy: Ambition, Beauty, and the Inside Story of Emily Weiss's Glossier

By Marisa Meltzer

“Weiss didn't build Glossier to be acquired by a beauty monolith like Estée Lauder; she wanted to become Estée Lauder. "I want to be the beauty version of Nike," Weiss said. "I plan to, you know, like—just 'dew' it." If the beauty industry has an "It girl," one who radiates genuine self-made power as well as genuine mystique, it's probably Weiss. And it's all enough to make the company's success seem effortless. As of July 2021, Glossier was valued at $1.8 billion. But like the labor of applying makeup to make you look naturally beautiful, nothing about Glossier is effortless.”

Takeaways:

• Disruptive success: From beauty blog to one of America’s hottest and most consequential startups, Glossier transformed the market with innovative branding and influencer marketing strategy, gaining a massive following and a dedicated online community—how’d it happen?

• Vision and ambition: How did Emily Weiss—a girl from suburban Connecticut with no real job experience—work her way into the bathrooms and boudoirs of the most influential names in the world and build that access into a 1.9-billion-dollar business?

• Inside the empire: Get a behind-the-scenes look into a woman CEO building her business: fundraising, product launches, hiring practices, culture, and all to become one of the most influential business leaders of her generation.

When Women Lead: What They Achieve, Why They Succeed, and How We Can Learn from Them

By Julia Boorstin

“Then, when I was thirty-three, I became pregnant with my first son. The protective "work identity" that I had so carefully cultivated was suddenly being colonized, and visibly so, by my personal one. Once I was "showing," the number of offensive incidents rose in apparent proportion to my growing belly. There were comments about how it would be impossible to continue my TV career once I had children. Many men I interviewed rubbed my belly before they sat down to clip on a microphone. Some even remarked on my breasts. Like millions of women before me, I was annoyed and scared about how this new identity could impact my career momentum.”

Takeaways:

• Superpowers don’t always look like powers: Traits that might be perceived as weaknesses can become superpowers. Effective leadership doesn't conform to a single mold; success in leadership is often tied to unique and nuanced approaches, which may not fit traditional stereotypes and male leaders we've seen in the mainstream business world.

• Embrace vulnerability and collaboration: Successful women CEOs and leaders share common traits that set them apart: they are highly adaptive to change, display empathy in their management style, and prioritize integrating diverse perspectives into their strategies, addressing voids overlooked by men counterparts. It’s about balancing self-confidence and humility for growth and trust in leadership.

• The future of business: Take a peek at the blueprint for the future of business, where women leadership qualities and our potential can disrupt industries, drive innovation, and achieve substantial profits.

Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men

By Caroline Criado Perez

“Imagine a world where your phone is too big for your hand, where your doctor prescribes a drug that is wrong for your body, where in a car accident you are 47% more likely to be seriously injured, where every week the countless hours of work you do are not recognised or valued. If any of this sounds familiar, chances are that you’re a woman.”

Takeaways:

• Data bias perpetuates gender inequality: Women's needs and experiences are being overlooked. There’s a gender data gap, and this gender inequality results in a world where many aspects of society—from healthcare to urban planning—are designed based on male data.

• Real-world consequences: This is fact, not fiction; the gender data gap has real-world consequences, such as misdiagnosed women's health issues (see: Doing Harm above) or compromised safety due to poorly designed products and infrastructure that fail to consider women's needs and experiences.

• The need for inclusive data: Collecting and analyzing gender-disaggregated data is a must to better understand and address the unique challenges women face. This is also a call for more women representation in decision-making and policy development—let’s make our voices heard.

Bonus Watch Recommendation

All-In Summit: Bill Gurley presents 2,851 Miles

We’re big fans of the All-In Podcast in general over here, but if you haven’t watched this one with Bill Gurley in particular, it’s a must.

In the words of Shelley: “Bill is f*cking good. Mic drop.”

It’s well worth the half hour watch to hear Bill name players and speak on regulatory capture and the repercussions on innovation. You’re in for a standing ovation-worthy presentation.

Checked all these off your list? We love to hear it! 👏 Cheers to learning how to build the world we want to live in. 

Let us know what you’re reading, watching, or listening to lately—we're always down to expand our bookshelves and flag a new podcast to tune into.