I have absolutely no idea how Women Who Won by Ros Ball illustrated by Emmy Lupin arrived in my post box or who sent it, but my huge thanks. I’ve had the book a couple of months, have been gradually reading each of the entries and am delighted to share my review today.

Women Who Won was published by Unbound on 7th September 2023 and is available for purchase here.

Women Who Won

Did you know that Sirimavo Bandaranaike of Sri Lanka was the first woman in the world to become a democratically elected prime minister? That Tina Anselmi was a wartime resistance fighter who became the first woman to serve as a cabinet minister in Italy? Or that Sylvie Kinigi of Burundi was the first woman to serve as a prime minister in Africa? It is high time these extraordinary women who helped shape our world became household names, and this book brings them at last to the fore.

Women Who Won is a celebration of 70 women from the last 100 years: politicians from around the globe who fought for election in a man’s world… and won. Beautifully illustrated by artist Emmy Lupin, it features well-known figures, including Kamala Harris, Benazir Bhutto, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Jacinda Ardern and Julia Gillard, alongside lesser-known women whose stories are ready to be heard:

• Shidzue Katō, one of the first women elected to the Diet of Japan
• Yulia Tymoshenko, the first woman prime minister of Ukraine
• Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to the US Congress
• Peri-Khan Sofieva, the first democratically elected Muslim woman
• Ethel Blondin-Andrew, the first Indigenous woman elected to Canadian parliament

Women of the past, but also women of the present and future. Women who smashed the political glass ceiling. Women who fought to leave a positive legacy for future generations. Women who paved the way for girls of today to become women who won.

My Review of Women Who Won

A collection of biographies about inspirational women.

You know, one of the things about Women Who Won that struck me immediately was the sad fact that not only do we need a book with a focus on women in political situations, but that if I’m totally honest I hadn’t heard of the vast majority of the seventy women here. I was immediately moved by the reference to Jo Cox at the start of the book and by the time I had read each of the entries I felt humbled, uplifted, educated and informed. Women Who Won is an important book.

Each entry is accompanied by a glorious full colour portrait from Emmy Lupin that held a resonance of the work of Frieda Kahlo for me. They truly helped bring these amazing women to life.

Covering countries from across the world, each randomly organised entry begins with a summative sentence and includes footnotes and references that lead the reader to further research. Ros Ball manages to distil both detail and information into concise and accessible prose that is so informative and interesting. I’d defy anyone reading Women Who Won not to find someone whose personality, situation or beliefs resonates with them, so that it isn’t just geography, ethnicity and sexuality that’s inclusive here, but the opportunity to discover a like-minded individual. I also found reading the list of contributors who have helped crowd fund Women Who Won incredibly diverting and it meant that Women Who Won gave me more to discover, researching some of them after I’d finished reading about the seventy people included here.

It’s quite hard to explain the impact of Women Who Won. It’s fascinating. It’s informative. And, surprisingly, it’s quite emotional to discover these amazing women who have striven against all manner of adversity to be beacons for us all – regardless of gender. I thought Women Who Won was beautifully produced, enduring and absolutely needed in a world that sometimes feels dominated by men hell bent on destroying us all.

About Ros Ball

Ros Ball is an author and former BBC broadcast journalist, working for many years on politics in Westminster. In 2017 she published The Gender Agenda, a first-hand account of how boys and girls are treated differently. She currently works on equalities policy for women and girls.

For further information, follow Ros on Twitter/X @rosball or find Ros on Instagram.

  About Emmy Lupin

 Emmy Lupin is a freelance illustrator from Nottingham, based in London. Specialising in digital illustration that’s big on pattern and colour, Emmy’s work is inspired by looking at life through a female lens. She has been commissioned by the likes of Adidas, TikTok, Stylist Magazine and SEGA, to name a few.

For further information visit Emmy’s website and find her on Instagram and Facebook.