Due to a passing in the family a few years ago and my subsequent health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for years after the bereavement. Thank you for the opportunity.

This is a book that should be more prominent. When we think about the changes being pushed for, in some cases violently, regarding the words woman, and female, there needs to be a better understanding of where we have come from, what we suffered and what we potentially face if men are freely allowed to identify as women. I'm not going to get into gender politics because it needs a lot more nuanced discussion than can be done in a book review. Think you for approving me for this title.

I am incredibly interested in reading about the women's movements, especially as celebrate the 100th anniversary of some women gaining the vote. Fantastic as would be expected

Released to coincide with the centenary of some women getting the vote in 1918 under the Representation of the People Act, Helen Pankhurst's exploration into how far we've come since our foremothers campaigned for the basic human right to vote is insightful, interesting but unfortunately, nothing massively new. Much like a number of other books on feminism, this piece interweaves individual memoir-esque pieces (it helps that Pankhurst is, of course, the descendant of Emmeline Pankhurst, the prominent suffragette) with explorations into female representation in culture, fashion, society, politics, entertainment, sport and faith. For the most part, these were things that I knew about, though it was nice to read more about the movement of the suffragettes and what came about with the movement towards women getting the vote. This was definitely an interesting book, but didn't really offer me anything new that I didn't already know. Interesting but not revolutionary.

It was an interesting time, a century ago. A war which affected most of Europe and beyond, a flu epidemic which killed even more people globally than the war (bloody as it was) and authors as diverse as Muriel Spark and Spike Milligan were born. And, as we have been reminded widely on the news and through social media, women got the vote. Well, not all women. Women over 30, who owned property or were married to a property owner – compared to all men over 21 (or over 19 if they were in military service) – so it wasn’t exactly equality but it was a start. But how much more equal are things now? In Words Not Deeds Helen Pankhurst (a great-granddaughter of Emmeline Pankhurst) looks at the progress of women’s rights from 1918 to the present day.

Pankhurst looks at a number of areas – politics, money, identity, conflict, culture and power – and discusses the historical background from 100 years ago, talks through the developments and, finally, gives a score (out of 5) for how far we have progressed. In some sectors we have done pretty well – identity in particular get 4/5 because women now have so much more freedom to dress as they please and conduct their personal relationships in their own way. It isn’t a perfect situation but great advances have been made. Conflict, on the other hand, which includes issues of violence against women and their feelings of safety sadly only scored 1/5. Reading the case studies and the personal stories it is hard to see how any higher score could be given. I won’t spoil the overall score for you but suffice it to say we still have nearly as far to go as we have come…

The most important thing I have taken from reading this book is that all women’s experience of life is different. Meaning that although I have had a good life – with access to a loving family, decent food and housing, an excellent education and healthcare – this is not the same for everyone. Whether we like it or not there are many factors which can affect how women are able to access all the things we take for granted – ethnicity, age, disability, sexual and gender identity among others – and we need to stop assuming that our own experience is the norm. Reading the stories from women who have had such different lives from my own makes me appreciate such diversity. When we remember to listen to all these voices we will be able to improve life for everyone, women and men.

Written by the granddaughter of one of the Pankhurst sisters, there’s very few more qualified to write a book like this and Helen Pankhurst does it incredbly well in Deeds Not Words, released a hundred years after the first time women were allowed to vote.

Chaptered into different topics, this book gives a concise and interesting layout of what has changed and what still needs to change for women in the UK and done in a way that makes it easy to read. Chapters on subjects I don’t think about so often such as Money, Identity and Culture are covered incredibly well in this book and go into different parts of society that inform the reader.

I really enjoyed and grew frustrated at this book, knowing how much there was still needing to be changed, however the chapters on 2028 and Beyond give me hope there are new ideas that will allow for a more equal and better society for any woman who lives in it.

An exceptionally powerful narrative, stirring and gorgeously written, a must read for...well, for everyone! It made me feel proud+angry+inspired all at once!