Everywoman: One Woman’s Truth About Speaking the Truth

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Self Promotion - it’s very refreshing to hear someone just straight up talk about how they had to promote themselves to get where they had got.

Jess Phillips and I probably agree on about 95% of the issues. It certainly raises my estimation of her when the worst people on the internet despise her as much as they do. The book is interesting, readable, sometimes funny, and usually pretty well informed. The central message seemed to be that women need more confidence in their abilities, mainly in the world of work but also their capability to have a career and children. This leads to a heartfelt but flawed defence of all-women shortlists. Phillips compares three women elected in this way against three men, and says "look, these women specially selected by me are more qualified than these particular male counterparts". So this not only proves nothing, but would also allow nepotistic employers to choose their mates for the top jobs so long as they can find some examples of employees who were chosen on merit but weren't top performers. I doubt Phillips would think that acceptable as a Labour MP. She also asserts that being the 'best woman for the job' is a nonsensical comment because no-one says that Jessica Ennis won 'girlie gold', a terrible analogy as women's sporting events only exist because the best women cannot compete with the best men. Lord knows we need more MPs like Jess Phillips . . . as fresh as mountain air amid the Westminster tumbleweed in this refreshingly bracing memoir." ( Metro)This book is an interesting look at what it’s like being a woman predominantly in the political sphere but the material is applicable to many other careers particularly those where a woman has dared to attempt to participate in and challenge an otherwise patriarchal career. Jess talks about her upbringing and the struggle of balancing having a family and maintaining her political career and she talks openly about the sacrifices she has had to make to continue doing her job. She discusses online abuse and the threats she has received simply for having a political opinion and she talks about times she has been patronised for daring to think she can ‘have it all’. Partly her life story, partly her opinions on key issues such as abuse against women, the book was compelling throughout. You could feel the raw emotion that she was pouring into this book, you know that she truly cares. I loved this book and I greatly admire Jess Phillips. This is a plain speaking guide on how she got into politics and how she handles all the shit now she is there. Written shortly after Jo Cox’s death, she examines how the stakes are set for women in positions of power and how to deal with attempts to silence women’s voices. I read this book in one weekend while house-sitting for my sister. It was so hot out that I basically hibernated on the sofa in front of a fan and devoured this book. I tend to get switched off by books in which people just bang on about how great they are, but the (somewhat lengthy) bragging here is offset by vulnerability, honesty and a passion for instigating meaningful change on issues of critical importance. Handled as a piece of writing, it’s kind of shapeless and rambling, sometimes shallow and disingenuous (the line about ‘education, education and education’ – give me strength), and – aside from that encounter while out canvassing – pretty unfunny.

I’d heard of Jess Phillips before with some of her tweets being retweeted into my timeline, but I didn’t really know much of who she was. This book was a great intro into her mind and the things that she stands for. This was a great read! I've admired Jess for a while, just because it's not every day a woman from the midlands is on the TV, never mind as an MP.In this quirky book Jess Phillips writes from her position as Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley producing something that lies between a memoir and a rallying cry for women. Phillips writes in a direct, conversational style, which is often refreshing, but the episodic structure means the finished work is frustratingly fragmentary. I found the most rewarding sections those where she comments on her time in Westminster, attitudes to women’s issues in her party and her work in Women’s Aid. Some of her comments about the culture of the contemporary Labour Party reminded me of the old SWP position that women’s issues were a bourgeois distraction, a stance which seems to be gaining currency yet again, or perhaps never fully went away. Don't get the idea that this is a dry, weighty, preachy tome, it is nothing of the sort. It is full of warmth and humour, filled with the loud and proud Brummie voice that Jess is so well known for. I had the privilege to hear her speak last year in Birmingham and she was such a wonderful speaker, full of wit and anecdote. How I wish every one could have an MP like Jess. How I wish we all had a cheerleader, a friend like Jess. That’s doesn’t mean this is a guidebook of any kind of political treatise. It is a “from the heart” overview of the world we live in, the perspective of one woman, but goodness what an inspiring woman. If you're thinking, 'Jess, who?' then I'm glad that there was something about 'Everywoman' and 'truth' that caught your eye. Where were we? Oh yeah, Jess Phillips is awesome and Kier Starmer should not be in the position he is in. Because every time he has been across the Prime Minister at the weekly questions, he has massively failed and come up short. I mean, how ineffective do you have to be to follow Jeremy Corbyn and still look shit?

All in all, I thought this was a great read, I think Jess Phillips has a great future, she’s going to go far. Even if she’s not your cup of tea, this was still a great read. Just like some other books I’ve read, it feels a little presumptious to assume that the author is speaking on behalf of all women, we all have such different experiences that you can’t just generalise, but this one wasn’t as bad as some others.Jess Phillips knows the truth . . . and here she shows how scary and sad as well as joyful and liberating the answers can be.' Damian Barr The book is an easy read, Jess writes in a conversational style as though you were chatting with her personally, as with her other books she doesn’t use jargon so don’t worry if you have no knowledge of how politics works as this book will still be accessible. I imagine people who like Phillips will like this book too, as it largely mirrors her public profile (which to be fair is consistent with her position that she is 'just herself' as an MP) of a down to earth Champion of Women's Rights. I had wondered what her political stance on other issues was, and she rails against those who suggest that being a feminist leads you to be typecast. So she offers barely anything else in her book. Her economic policy is to campaign for equal earnings between men and women and moan that pink razors cost more (as women are incapable of buying the same product cheaper in a different colour, presumably), and the only other politics mentioned is that more support for victims of abuse is needed. She supported Yvette Cooper's leadership bid, but offers no reasons why. One wonders how anyone could see a strident feminist as only championing one cause.

This is required reading for anyone interested in gender relations, who thinks the patriarchy is a thing and who wants to understand how it works, what they can do to combat it. That means, teenage girls, middle aged women, teenage boys and middle aged men. If you’re thinking, ‘Jess, who?’ then I’m glad that there was something about ‘Everywoman’ and ‘truth’ that caught your eye.If I am ever harassed, marginalised, silenced, bullied or abused I want Jess Phillips in my corner. Reading this book filled my heart with joy and sadness in equal measure. Jess is a powerful, feisty, opinionated Brummie and I wish there were more voices like hers in both society and Parliament. She has issues she cares passionately about and isn't afraid to say it like it is. The parts of the book which deal with her work with and campaigning for women who have suffered violence and domestic abuse broke my heart. Her determination not to be silenced when giving these women a voice is truly inspirational. This is part-memoir, part-reflection on womanhood. Jess Phillips doesn’t actually discuss her political views to any great extent in this book, she primarily focuses on women’s issues, such as domestic violence, rape, the gender pay gap, and the ways that women are silenced in the work place. Her views on the importance of feminism and equality are explained clearly and powerfully. Although this may sound heavy going, the book is actually quite light hearted in general, and I laughed out loud at some parts. Jess Phillips is refreshing, her no-nonsense, straight-forward approach aims to open politics up to all and that can only be a good thing. The UK political system continues to be dominated by upper-class, privately-educated men when surely it is in the interests of the country if the political system is representative of the people that it aims to represent; otherwise it is only beneficial to very few people. Jess is a state-educated, working class woman and also the current MP for Birmingham Yardley, she is often criticised in the media for being loud, outspoken and opinionated – all traits that if spoken about a man would be viewed positively.