Everywoman: One Woman’s Truth About Speaking the Truth

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She also deals with her own family issues and her own failings honestly, and I think her explanation that having these things in your background is not something that should make you keep out of politics is going to be helpful to people.

I will never be Jo, but having read Everywoman, I feel encouraged to be a more opinionated and courageous version of myself, unafraid to be authentic, ‘gobby’, disruptive and real. This is not a theoretical treaty about feminism but it oozes the down to earth appeal of an MP who has long lived among the people she seeks to represent. Yes, she wears her heart on her sleeve, in a working environment which doesn't really accept that sort of thing, and I respect her for it.

She does pay lip service to PoC sometimes, and she seems to remember that disabled people exist every now and then. You might also enjoy Know Your Place: Essays on the Working Class by the Working Class by Nathan Connolly. Phillips cares a great deal about physical and sexual abuse, about the wage gap and career development, about online bullying and so on - but she just doesn't seem to have noticed that all of these issues disproportionately affect women who also belong to other marginalised groups.

There is little mention of any BAME women in this book, which does in some way make sense as it’s mostly a personal account of Jess’ experiences, but I really would have thought that such an important and trailblazing woman such as Dianne would have made it into the book. 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’.Jess Phillips is not Everywoman (which is fine) but thinks that she is (which is really not fine at all). Candid about being a young mum – ‘ most of the time – if I’m completely honest – it’s unremarkable, tedious and frankly a bit meh.