Celebrate the Powerful Women in Your Life With These Inspiring Women's Equality Day Quotes

Tammy Wynette had it right. Sometimes it really is hard to be a woman, especially when we've still got so far to go to achieve gender equality. After all, as of last year, the fairer sex still earns just 82 percent of what men make. But we've secured some victories along the way, like when we finally won the right to vote with the 1920 adoption of the 19th Amendment, an event which is honored every August 26 on Women's Equality Day. It's without a doubt a momentous occasion definitely worth saluting in some fashion—perhaps by reflecting on Women's Equality Day quotes?

Sure, you could always celebrate with a girlfriend getaway, a round (or two, or three) of scrumptious summer cocktails with your gal pals, or even a movie marathon starring eternally strong, smart and sassy Sandra Bullock. But why not begin the day by posting, texting or otherwise sharing some words of wisdom about women from famous ladies? Below, you'll find 33 powerful quotes from everyone from Michelle Obama to Beyoncé, Hillary Clinton to Coco Chanel. They're sure to energize and inspire you and your crew, along with making you all darn proud to be women.

• "I figure, if a girl wants to be a legend, she should go ahead and be one." —Calamity Jane

• "Human rights are women's rights, and women's rights are human rights." —Hillary Clinton

• "We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back." —Malala Yousafzai

• "Women have always been the strong ones of the world." —Coco Chanel

• "A woman with a voice is, by definition, a strong woman." —Melinda Gates

• "There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish." —Michelle Obama

• "Women will only have true equality when men share with them the responsibility of bringing up the next generation." —Ruth Bader Ginsburg

• “I can promise you that women working together—linked, informed and educated—can bring peace and prosperity to this forsaken planet.” —Isabelle Allende

• "If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman." —Margaret Thatcher

• "Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women." —Maya Angelou

• "We need women at all levels, including the top, to change the dynamic, reshape the conversation, to make sure women's voices are heard and heeded, not overlooked and ignored." —Sheryl Sandberg

• "Women, like men, should try to do the impossible. And when they fail, their failure should be a challenge to others." —Amelia Earhart

• "I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves." —Mary Shelley

• "Women are always saying, 'We can do anything that men can do.' But men should be saying, 'We can do anything that women can do.'" —Gloria Steinem

• "We need to reshape our own perception of how we view ourselves. We have to step up as women and take the lead." —Beyoncé

• "Men, their rights, and nothing more; women, their rights, and nothing less." —Susan B. Anthony

• "I want all the girls without an exception to have that space for themselves where they have opportunities to be the women they wish to be." —Priyanka Chopra

• "Women have discovered that they cannot rely on men's chivalry to give them justice." —Helen Keller

• "Who knows what women can be when they are finally free to be themselves." —Betty Friedan

• "In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders." —Sheryl Sandberg

• "When women participate in peace-making and peace-keeping, we are all safer and more secure." —Hillary Clinton
  

• "Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness." —Oprah Winfrey

• "Some leaders are born women." —Geraldine Ferraro

• "My hope for the future, not just in the music industry, but in every young girl I meet, is that they all realize their worth and ask for it." —Taylor Swift

• "It's important to teach our female youth that it's OK to say, 'Yes, I am good at this,' and you don't hold back." —Simone Biles

• "Our collective experience has shown that when women have the power to make their own choices, good things happen." —Madeleine Albright

• "A girl should be two things: who and what she wants" —Coco Chanel

• "No country can ever truly flourish if it stifles the potential of its women and deprives itself of the contributions of half of its citizens." —Michelle Obama

• "Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim." —Nora Ephron

• "Do not live someone else’s life and someone else’s idea of what womanhood is. Womanhood is you." —Viola Davis

• "Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world." —Hillary Clinton

• "Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. It shouldn’t be that women are the exception." —Ruth Bader Ginsburg

• "Every woman’s success should be an inspiration to another. We’re strongest when we cheer each other on." —Serena Williams

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