Woman Up
Pitches, Pay and Periods - the progress and potential of women's football
From the author of Unsuitable for Females, shortlisted for The Sunday Times Football Book of the Year 2023.
With the triumph of England's Lionesses at Euro 2022, the women's game has been in the spotlight like never before, enjoying unprecedented media attention. But this is the result of decades of struggle to get women's football — banned by the English FA for fifty years — on a more equal footing to its male counterpart. And while the current professional players are starting to reap the rewards of their success on the pitch, their personal journeys have often involved fighting against the odds, and they are still at a disadvantage in many areas, including access to medical treatment, playing facilities and salaries. So that a new generation of girls getting involved in football all over the world don't face the same obstacles as their predecessors, football journalist Carrie Dunn shines a light on the evolution of women's football and the gender gaps that still persist — on issues such as injuries, sportswear, period taboos and diversity.
Packed with practical advice and first-hand accounts from leading female players, Woman Up is an inspirational, informative and entertaining account of women's football's painful past and its exciting future.
Carrie Dunn's recent books include The Pride of the Lionesses (Pitch, 2019), nominated as Football Book of the Year in 2020, and a sequel to The Roar of the Lionesses: Women's Football in England (Pitch, 2016), one of the Guardian's best sports books of 2016. Her most recent book Unsuitable for Females (Arena, 2022) tells the stories of the people who have kept women's football blazing a trail over the last century. She has covered the last three Women's World Cups for the Times and Eurosport, and is a regular voice on BBC radio as well as The Athletic's Women's Football Podcast. She has a PhD in sport sociology, and her particular research specialism is in women’s experience of sport. Her own footballing career began — and ended — with the Junior Hatters' supporters' club in her hometown of Luton. She lives in the beautiful Snowdonia National Park with her actor husband and their rescue lurcher, Spring.
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