Women's History Network
@womenshistnet.bsky.social
Your go-to place for women’s history!
The Women’s History Network is an inclusive UK association for those passionate about women’s & gender history. Also on LinkedIn.
Learn more about our values: https://womenshistorynetwork.org/about-page/
The Women’s History Network is an inclusive UK association for those passionate about women’s & gender history. Also on LinkedIn.
Learn more about our values: https://womenshistorynetwork.org/about-page/
Pinned
We are delighted to share the Call for Papers for our Spring Seminar Series 2026:
#OTD in 1961 the contraceptive pill was introduced on the NHS.
While the pill continues to be debated and at times still attracts controversy, it is important to remember what it offered women: greater control over their own bodies.
blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/just-a-pill-...
#sexualhealth
While the pill continues to be debated and at times still attracts controversy, it is important to remember what it offered women: greater control over their own bodies.
blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/just-a-pill-...
#sexualhealth
UK Government Web Archive
This Page is [ARCHIVED CONTENT] and shows what the site page https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/just-a-pill-60-years-of-the-contraceptive-pill-on-the-nhs/ looked like on 13 Jun 2025 at 00:00:00
blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk
December 4, 2025 at 1:58 PM
#OTD in 1961 the contraceptive pill was introduced on the NHS.
While the pill continues to be debated and at times still attracts controversy, it is important to remember what it offered women: greater control over their own bodies.
blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/just-a-pill-...
#sexualhealth
While the pill continues to be debated and at times still attracts controversy, it is important to remember what it offered women: greater control over their own bodies.
blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/just-a-pill-...
#sexualhealth
This International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, learn about gender and enslavement #AbolitionOfSlavery
womenshistorynetwork.org/black-asian-...
womenshistorynetwork.org/black-asian-...
Black & Asian women’s history: enslaved women on ships
‘A slave is a human being classed as property and who is forced to work for nothing. An enslaved person is a human being who is made to be a slave. This language is often used instead of the word s…
womenshistorynetwork.org
December 2, 2025 at 12:36 PM
This International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, learn about gender and enslavement #AbolitionOfSlavery
womenshistorynetwork.org/black-asian-...
womenshistorynetwork.org/black-asian-...
To mark Disability History Month, explore how women’s experiences have shaped disability history and why they must be counted.
Read Dr Coreen McGuire’s article for the Women’s History Network:
womenshistorynetwork.org/making-women...
#DisabilityHistoryMonth #WomensHistory #Inclusion #Accessibility
Read Dr Coreen McGuire’s article for the Women’s History Network:
womenshistorynetwork.org/making-women...
#DisabilityHistoryMonth #WomensHistory #Inclusion #Accessibility
December 1, 2025 at 11:24 AM
To mark Disability History Month, explore how women’s experiences have shaped disability history and why they must be counted.
Read Dr Coreen McGuire’s article for the Women’s History Network:
womenshistorynetwork.org/making-women...
#DisabilityHistoryMonth #WomensHistory #Inclusion #Accessibility
Read Dr Coreen McGuire’s article for the Women’s History Network:
womenshistorynetwork.org/making-women...
#DisabilityHistoryMonth #WomensHistory #Inclusion #Accessibility
This World AIDS Day, learn about how a powerful poster helped change the definition of AIDS and improve women’s access to healthcare.
Read Olivia Gill’s article for the Women’s History Network:
womenshistorynetwork.org/women-dont-g...
#WorldAIDSDay #WomensHistory #HIVAIDS #WomensHealth
Read Olivia Gill’s article for the Women’s History Network:
womenshistorynetwork.org/women-dont-g...
#WorldAIDSDay #WomensHistory #HIVAIDS #WomensHealth
“Women Don’t Get Aids They Just Die From It”: How a poster helped changed the definition of aids and women’s access to healthcare – Olivia Gill
Women Don’t Get Aids They Just Die from It was the headline of an advertisement designed by Gran Fury, which ran in inner city bus stops of Manhattan and in low-income suburban neighbourhoods in Lo…
womenshistorynetwork.org
December 1, 2025 at 11:15 AM
This World AIDS Day, learn about how a powerful poster helped change the definition of AIDS and improve women’s access to healthcare.
Read Olivia Gill’s article for the Women’s History Network:
womenshistorynetwork.org/women-dont-g...
#WorldAIDSDay #WomensHistory #HIVAIDS #WomensHealth
Read Olivia Gill’s article for the Women’s History Network:
womenshistorynetwork.org/women-dont-g...
#WorldAIDSDay #WomensHistory #HIVAIDS #WomensHealth
Discover how the first women’s refuge in the UK, founded in 1971 by Chiswick Women’s Aid, sparked a movement for change.
Read the full story here:
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/explore-the-....
Read the full story here:
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/explore-the-....
How the first women's refuge enacted change in the UK
The founding years of Chiswick Women’s Aid saw the opening of the world's first women's refuge, disputes with local government, and creating change in the UK.
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk
November 25, 2025 at 11:10 AM
Discover how the first women’s refuge in the UK, founded in 1971 by Chiswick Women’s Aid, sparked a movement for change.
Read the full story here:
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/explore-the-....
Read the full story here:
www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/explore-the-....
Today marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
Explore our blog post: “Depoliticising Male Violence Against Women” and learn more about this important history.
womenshistorynetwork.org/unrelenting-... #NoExcuse
Explore our blog post: “Depoliticising Male Violence Against Women” and learn more about this important history.
womenshistorynetwork.org/unrelenting-... #NoExcuse
UNRELENTING BACKLASH – Depoliticising Male Violence Against Women: Part 1
The term “gender based violence against women” does not inform the reader who is responsible for committing violence against women. “Gender” is a descriptive term not a huma…
womenshistorynetwork.org
November 25, 2025 at 10:45 AM
Today marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
Explore our blog post: “Depoliticising Male Violence Against Women” and learn more about this important history.
womenshistorynetwork.org/unrelenting-... #NoExcuse
Explore our blog post: “Depoliticising Male Violence Against Women” and learn more about this important history.
womenshistorynetwork.org/unrelenting-... #NoExcuse
Reposted by Women's History Network
May took part in window-smashing campaign March 1912, and was sentenced to one month’s hard labour. This embroidery contains names women prisoners TWL.2012.24
www.flickr.com/photos/lseli...
@lselibrary.bsky.social @scotsuffragette.bsky.social @womenslibrary.bsky.social @womenshistnet.bsky.social
www.flickr.com/photos/lseli...
@lselibrary.bsky.social @scotsuffragette.bsky.social @womenslibrary.bsky.social @womenshistnet.bsky.social
November 25, 2025 at 9:22 AM
May took part in window-smashing campaign March 1912, and was sentenced to one month’s hard labour. This embroidery contains names women prisoners TWL.2012.24
www.flickr.com/photos/lseli...
@lselibrary.bsky.social @scotsuffragette.bsky.social @womenslibrary.bsky.social @womenshistnet.bsky.social
www.flickr.com/photos/lseli...
@lselibrary.bsky.social @scotsuffragette.bsky.social @womenslibrary.bsky.social @womenshistnet.bsky.social
We are very excited to have the privilege of hosting Prof Merry Wiesner-Hanks tomorrow at 4pm GMT. Merry will be discussing her book 'Women and the Reformations: A Global History'. Please do sign up to join us: womenshistorynetwork.org/sign-up-now-...
November 19, 2025 at 1:11 AM
We are very excited to have the privilege of hosting Prof Merry Wiesner-Hanks tomorrow at 4pm GMT. Merry will be discussing her book 'Women and the Reformations: A Global History'. Please do sign up to join us: womenshistorynetwork.org/sign-up-now-...
Reposted by Women's History Network
Join us on Wednesday, 19 November at 4pm GMT to hear Prof Merry Wiesner-Hanks discuss her fantastic monograph, 'Women and the Reformations', and how she came to write it. Sign-up link can be found here: womenshistorynetwork.org/sign-up-now-...
Sign up now for Prof Merry Wiesner-Hanks’s paper: ‘Reflections on Women and the Reformations: A Global History’
Wednesday, 19 November 2025, at 4pm GMT Sign-up now for our online-only zoom webinar here. Reflections on Women and the Reformations: A Global History The Reformations, both Protestant and Catholic…
womenshistorynetwork.org
November 16, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Join us on Wednesday, 19 November at 4pm GMT to hear Prof Merry Wiesner-Hanks discuss her fantastic monograph, 'Women and the Reformations', and how she came to write it. Sign-up link can be found here: womenshistorynetwork.org/sign-up-now-...
Join us on Wednesday, 19 November at 4pm GMT to hear Prof Merry Wiesner-Hanks discuss her fantastic monograph, 'Women and the Reformations', and how she came to write it. Sign-up link can be found here: womenshistorynetwork.org/sign-up-now-...
Sign up now for Prof Merry Wiesner-Hanks’s paper: ‘Reflections on Women and the Reformations: A Global History’
Wednesday, 19 November 2025, at 4pm GMT Sign-up now for our online-only zoom webinar here. Reflections on Women and the Reformations: A Global History The Reformations, both Protestant and Catholic…
womenshistorynetwork.org
November 16, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Join us on Wednesday, 19 November at 4pm GMT to hear Prof Merry Wiesner-Hanks discuss her fantastic monograph, 'Women and the Reformations', and how she came to write it. Sign-up link can be found here: womenshistorynetwork.org/sign-up-now-...
Reposted by Women's History Network
📅Nov 12, 1815, Elizabeth Cady Stanton author of the Declaration of Sentiments was born. A pioneering leader of the women’s rights movement. An avid bicycle fan🚲Saying "woman is riding to suffrage on the bicycle". Advancing women’s suffrage. #HiddenHerStory #WomensRights
shorturl.at/1T2k7
shorturl.at/1T2k7
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Author, lecturer, and chief philosopher of the woman’s rights and suffrage movements.
shorturl.at
November 12, 2025 at 2:14 PM
📅Nov 12, 1815, Elizabeth Cady Stanton author of the Declaration of Sentiments was born. A pioneering leader of the women’s rights movement. An avid bicycle fan🚲Saying "woman is riding to suffrage on the bicycle". Advancing women’s suffrage. #HiddenHerStory #WomensRights
shorturl.at/1T2k7
shorturl.at/1T2k7
Today, on #RemembranceDay, we recognise the men and women whose courage and contributions shaped history during times of conflict. From nurses and factory workers to codebreakers and campaigners, their stories remind us that remembrance is for everyone. #WomensHistory #LestWeForget
November 11, 2025 at 10:25 AM
Today, on #RemembranceDay, we recognise the men and women whose courage and contributions shaped history during times of conflict. From nurses and factory workers to codebreakers and campaigners, their stories remind us that remembrance is for everyone. #WomensHistory #LestWeForget
Reposted by Women's History Network
#BookBudgetAlert @daledebakcsy.bsky.social @politicdormouse.bsky.social @womenshistnet.bsky.social
Kay's book about careers novels for girls is finally published, mine arrived today. A great resource because these books were really the only careers advice then.
www.ggbp.co.uk/product/kw-a...
Kay's book about careers novels for girls is finally published, mine arrived today. A great resource because these books were really the only careers advice then.
www.ggbp.co.uk/product/kw-a...
KW A Smart Suit and White Gloves
GGBP are delighted to announce a new edition of Kay Whalley’s Career Stories (written as Kay Clifford), retitled A Smart Suit and White Gloves. For thirty years after the war, the genre of girls’ care...
www.ggbp.co.uk
November 10, 2025 at 5:56 PM
#BookBudgetAlert @daledebakcsy.bsky.social @politicdormouse.bsky.social @womenshistnet.bsky.social
Kay's book about careers novels for girls is finally published, mine arrived today. A great resource because these books were really the only careers advice then.
www.ggbp.co.uk/product/kw-a...
Kay's book about careers novels for girls is finally published, mine arrived today. A great resource because these books were really the only careers advice then.
www.ggbp.co.uk/product/kw-a...
Reposted by Women's History Network
ONLINE EVENT Fri 21 Nov 12-1pm "We Are The Lions Mr Manager!": Conversation with Townsend Theatre Productions. Hear from theatre-makers about their play on the 1976 Grunwick Strike combining music, performance and archives. @tuc.org.uk @womenshistnet.bsky.social
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/we-are-the...
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/we-are-the...
We Are The Lions Mr Manager: Conversation with Townsend Theatre Productions
Join us online for a lively chat with Townsend Theatre Productions about their show "We Are The Lions Mr Manager"
www.eventbrite.co.uk
November 6, 2025 at 5:26 PM
ONLINE EVENT Fri 21 Nov 12-1pm "We Are The Lions Mr Manager!": Conversation with Townsend Theatre Productions. Hear from theatre-makers about their play on the 1976 Grunwick Strike combining music, performance and archives. @tuc.org.uk @womenshistnet.bsky.social
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/we-are-the...
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/we-are-the...
Just a reminder that the Call for Papers for our Spring Seminar Series closes this coming Monday, 10 November 2025. If you were considering applying, please do! We would love to hear from you. Submissions should be sent to our seminar convener at [email protected].
November 6, 2025 at 3:17 PM
Just a reminder that the Call for Papers for our Spring Seminar Series closes this coming Monday, 10 November 2025. If you were considering applying, please do! We would love to hear from you. Submissions should be sent to our seminar convener at [email protected].
Reposted by Women's History Network
Suffragette Guy Fawkes Day event from November 1907.
in Clapham suffragette effigy being paraded with placard i want the vote! see @lselibrary.bsky.social
digital.library.lse.ac.uk/Documents/De...
#guyfawkes @womenshistnet.bsky.social @lsegender.bsky.social
in Clapham suffragette effigy being paraded with placard i want the vote! see @lselibrary.bsky.social
digital.library.lse.ac.uk/Documents/De...
#guyfawkes @womenshistnet.bsky.social @lsegender.bsky.social
November 5, 2025 at 11:56 AM
Suffragette Guy Fawkes Day event from November 1907.
in Clapham suffragette effigy being paraded with placard i want the vote! see @lselibrary.bsky.social
digital.library.lse.ac.uk/Documents/De...
#guyfawkes @womenshistnet.bsky.social @lsegender.bsky.social
in Clapham suffragette effigy being paraded with placard i want the vote! see @lselibrary.bsky.social
digital.library.lse.ac.uk/Documents/De...
#guyfawkes @womenshistnet.bsky.social @lsegender.bsky.social
Unfortunately, due to speaker illness we have had to postpone our 'New Approaches to Writing Women's Histories' event which was due to take place today. All who registered for the event have been contacted via email. Once a new date has been confirmed we will share the details here & on our website.
November 5, 2025 at 12:19 PM
Unfortunately, due to speaker illness we have had to postpone our 'New Approaches to Writing Women's Histories' event which was due to take place today. All who registered for the event have been contacted via email. Once a new date has been confirmed we will share the details here & on our website.
Our second speaker spotlight falls on writer and (historical) documentary maker Gráinne Lyons. Her travelogue, "Wild Atlantic Women: Walking Ireland’s West Coast", was published in 2024. Sign up for our event (below) to hear Gráinne speak about how she approaches writing women's histories.
November 4, 2025 at 9:15 AM
Our second speaker spotlight falls on writer and (historical) documentary maker Gráinne Lyons. Her travelogue, "Wild Atlantic Women: Walking Ireland’s West Coast", was published in 2024. Sign up for our event (below) to hear Gráinne speak about how she approaches writing women's histories.
New on the blog! Esther Freeman from @share-uk.bsky.social explores the different ways women have used food throughout history, and how we can reframe it as a powerful political tool #womenshistory
womenshistorynetwork.org/kitchen-resi...
womenshistorynetwork.org/kitchen-resi...
Kitchen Resistance: how women used food to fight back – Esther Freeman
I’d been in the Women’s Library at LSE for hours, going through oral history transcripts in the Women Against Pit Closures collection. I’m not being hyperbolic when I say I felt close to tears. The…
womenshistorynetwork.org
November 4, 2025 at 9:09 AM
New on the blog! Esther Freeman from @share-uk.bsky.social explores the different ways women have used food throughout history, and how we can reframe it as a powerful political tool #womenshistory
womenshistorynetwork.org/kitchen-resi...
womenshistorynetwork.org/kitchen-resi...
Olympe de Gouges was executed #OTD 1793. A pioneering French feminist and abolitionist, de Gouges wrote the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen in 1791, demanding equal rights for women during the French Revolution.
November 3, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Olympe de Gouges was executed #OTD 1793. A pioneering French feminist and abolitionist, de Gouges wrote the Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen in 1791, demanding equal rights for women during the French Revolution.
Reposted by Women's History Network
Sofya Vasilyevna Kovalevskaya (1850‑1891) A trailblazing mathematician who earned the 1st modern‑era PhD in mathematics, became the first woman full professor of mathematics, & made key advances in analysis, partial differential equations,& mechanics #WomenInHistory #WomenInSTEM
tinyurl.com/32c3v3jt
tinyurl.com/32c3v3jt
November 3, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Sofya Vasilyevna Kovalevskaya (1850‑1891) A trailblazing mathematician who earned the 1st modern‑era PhD in mathematics, became the first woman full professor of mathematics, & made key advances in analysis, partial differential equations,& mechanics #WomenInHistory #WomenInSTEM
tinyurl.com/32c3v3jt
tinyurl.com/32c3v3jt
Reposted by Women's History Network
Registration for our 'New Approaches to Writing Women's Histories' event is now LIVE! Please do join us next Wednesday, 5 November 2025 at 4pm GMT for a fascinating discussion with Kaia Alderson and Gráinne Lyons. More details here: womenshistorynetwork.org/sign-up-now-...
Sign up now for our ‘New Approaches to Writing Women’s Histories’ Roundtable Event!
Our Autumn Seminar Series continues next Wednesday, 5 November 2025, at 4pm GMT, with a special roundtable event, New Approaches to Writing Women’s Histories. We are thrilled to welcome Kaia …
womenshistorynetwork.org
October 29, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Registration for our 'New Approaches to Writing Women's Histories' event is now LIVE! Please do join us next Wednesday, 5 November 2025 at 4pm GMT for a fascinating discussion with Kaia Alderson and Gráinne Lyons. More details here: womenshistorynetwork.org/sign-up-now-...
Applications are now open for the Ann Ball Bodley Visiting Fellowship in Women’s History at @bodleian.ox.ac.uk offering scholars the opportunity to advance research in women’s history.
Find full details: www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/csb/fellowsh...
#WomensHistory #ResearchFellowship #BodleianLibraries
Find full details: www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/csb/fellowsh...
#WomensHistory #ResearchFellowship #BodleianLibraries
Bodleian Visiting Fellowships in Special Collections
www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk
November 3, 2025 at 9:33 AM
Applications are now open for the Ann Ball Bodley Visiting Fellowship in Women’s History at @bodleian.ox.ac.uk offering scholars the opportunity to advance research in women’s history.
Find full details: www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/csb/fellowsh...
#WomensHistory #ResearchFellowship #BodleianLibraries
Find full details: www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/csb/fellowsh...
#WomensHistory #ResearchFellowship #BodleianLibraries
Ahead of our 'New Approaches to Writing Women's Histories' event, we want to shine a light on our fab speakers, starting with Kaia Alderson. Kaia is a historical fiction author passionate about highlighting “hidden" women in African American history. Read more about Kaia here: www.kaiaalderson.com
October 30, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Ahead of our 'New Approaches to Writing Women's Histories' event, we want to shine a light on our fab speakers, starting with Kaia Alderson. Kaia is a historical fiction author passionate about highlighting “hidden" women in African American history. Read more about Kaia here: www.kaiaalderson.com
Registration for our 'New Approaches to Writing Women's Histories' event is now LIVE! Please do join us next Wednesday, 5 November 2025 at 4pm GMT for a fascinating discussion with Kaia Alderson and Gráinne Lyons. More details here: womenshistorynetwork.org/sign-up-now-...
Sign up now for our ‘New Approaches to Writing Women’s Histories’ Roundtable Event!
Our Autumn Seminar Series continues next Wednesday, 5 November 2025, at 4pm GMT, with a special roundtable event, New Approaches to Writing Women’s Histories. We are thrilled to welcome Kaia …
womenshistorynetwork.org
October 29, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Registration for our 'New Approaches to Writing Women's Histories' event is now LIVE! Please do join us next Wednesday, 5 November 2025 at 4pm GMT for a fascinating discussion with Kaia Alderson and Gráinne Lyons. More details here: womenshistorynetwork.org/sign-up-now-...