Ignite Your Inner Fire With These 125 Empowering Quotes From Some of the Strongest Women in History
These inspirational quotes to empower women are worth reading.
Maybe you're feeling down, or maybe you need an extra dose of encouragement to help you stick to those goals you've set for yourself. Whatever the case, there's nothing quite like reading some of the best quotes to empower women to get you through—especially when they're spoken by some of the strongest women in history.
Here are 125 women empowerment quotes to help ignite your inner female fire when you need it most.
Related: International Women's Day Quotes
125 Quotes To Empower Women
1. To all the little girls who are watching this, never doubt that you are valuable and powerful, and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world to pursue and achieve your own dreams." —Hillary Clinton
2. "I do not try to dance better than anyone else. I only try to dance better than myself.” — Arianna Huffington
3. “I have chosen to no longer be apologetic for my femaleness and my femininity. And I want to be respected in all of my femaleness because I deserve to be.”—Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
4. "Whatever the problem, be part of the solution. Don’t just sit around raising questions and pointing out obstacles.” — Tina Fey
5. “No one changes the world who isn’t obsessed.” — Billie Jean King
6. "You don't have to be pretty. You don't owe prettiness to anyone. Not to your boyfriend/spouse/partner, not to your co-workers, especially not to random men on the street. You don't owe it to your mother, you don't owe it to your children, you don't owe it to civilization in general. Prettiness is not a rent you pay for occupying a space marked 'female.'" — Erin McKean
7. “I’m always perpetually out of my comfort zone.” — Tory Burch
8. “A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle.” ― Irina Dunn
9. “I am always busy, which is perhaps the chief reason why I am always well.” — Elizabeth Cady Stanton
10. “More than ever, I am aware of the need to support and celebrate each other. I like to believe I am part of a global support group network of 3.4 billion. Imagine: if you can fall back on the 3.5 billion sisters, and the many good men who are with us, what could we possibly not achieve?” – Nicole Kidman
Related: March Is Women's History Month! Learn More About Its Backstory and Celebration
11. “I believe the rights of women and girls is the unfinished business of the 21st century.” – Hillary Clinton
12. "Women have to harness their power—it’s absolutely true. It’s just learning not to take the first ‘no’. And if you can’t go straight ahead, you go around the corner.” – Cher
13. "A woman with a voice is, by definition, a strong woman." — Melinda Gates
14. "A woman is like a tea bag—you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
15. “I learned a long time ago that there is something worse than missing the goal, and that’s not pulling the trigger.” — Mia Hamm
16. “If you’re someone people count on, particularly in difficult moments, that’s a sign of a life lived honorably.” — Rachel Maddow
17. "Nothing liberates our greatness like the desire to help, the desire to serve." — Marianne Williamson
18. "A feminist is anyone who recognizes the equality and full humanity of women and men." — Gloria Steinem
19. "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
20. “We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.” – Malala Yousafzai
21. "We need to reshape our own perception of how we view ourselves. We have to step up as women and take the lead." — Beyoncé
22. "No woman should be told she can't make decisions about her own body. When women's rights are under attack, we fight back." —Kamala Harris
23. "I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took any excuse." — Florence Nightingale
24. "I am a woman with thoughts and questions and shit to say. I say if I'm beautiful. I say if I'm strong. You will not determine my story—I will." — Amy Schumer
25. “You can’t be that kid standing at the top of the waterslide, overthinking it. You have to go down the chute.” — Tina Fey
26. "This is your moment. Own it." — Oprah Winfrey
27. “My coach said I run like a girl. And I said if he ran a little faster, he could too.” – Mia Hamm
28. "In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders."— Sheryl Sandberg
29. "I hate to hear you talking so like a fine gentleman, and as if women were all fine ladies, instead of rational creatures. We none of us expect to be in smooth water all our days." -Jane Austen
30. “Girls should never be afraid to be smart.” ― Emma Watson
31. "Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I'll try again tomorrow." — Mary Anne Radmacher
32. “Courage is like a muscle. We strengthen it by use.” – Ruth Gordon
33. "Here’s my feeling: For everyone, men and women, it’s important to be a feminist. It’s important to have female characters. It’s wonderful for women to mentor other women, but it’s just as important for women to mentor men and vice-versa." — Mindy Kaling
34. “Don’t look at your feet to see if you are doing it right. Just dance.” — Anne Lamott
35. “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” — Mae West
36. “I want women’s rights to be equally honored, and uplifted, and heard…but I want to see us fighting the fight for all women — women of color, our LGBTQ sisters, our Muslim sisters. I want to see millions of us marching out there for our rights, and I want to see us out there marching for the rights of women like Dajerria Becton, who was body slammed by a cop while she was in her swimsuit for simply existing as a young, vocal, black girl. I think we are inching closer and closer there, and for that, I am very proud.” – Solange Knowles
37. "I don’t like the marginalization of women when the fighting breaks out. We get to fight too." — J.K. Rowling
38. “I am too intelligent, too demanding, and too resourceful for anyone to be able to take charge of me entirely. No one knows me or loves me completely. I have only myself”– Simone de Beauvoir
39. “I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.”— Estée Lauder
40. "Hard work keeps the wrinkles out of the mind and spirit." — Helena Rubinstein
41. “All careers go up and down like friendships, like marriages, like anything else, and you can’t bat a thousand all the time.” — Julie Andrews
42. “I think the best role models for women are people who are fruitfully and confidently themselves, who bring light into the world.” — Meryl Streep
43. “A girl should be two things: Who and what she wants.” — Coco Chanel
44. “There’s something so special about a woman who dominates in a man’s world. It takes a certain grace, strength, intelligence, fearlessness, and the nerve to never take no for an answer.” – Rihanna
45. “Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness.” – Oprah Winfrey
46. “The difference between successful people and others is how long they spend time feeling sorry for themselves.” — Barbara Corcoran
47. “I’m a feminist. I’ve been a female for a long time now. It’d be stupid not to be on my own side.” – Maya Angelou
48. "When I’m tired, I rest. I say, ‘I can’t be a superwoman today.’” — Jada Pinkett Smith
49. “If you find someone you love in your life, then hang on to that love.” — Princess Diana
50. “Cautious, careful people, always casting about to preserve their reputations can never effect a reform.” —Susan B. Anthony
51. “I hate to hear you talk about all women as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures. None of us want to be in calm waters all our lives.” ― Jane Austen
52. “Many receive advice, only the wise profit from it.” — Harper Lee
53. “I’m learning how to drown out the constant noise that is such an inseparable part of my life. I don’t have to prove anything to anyone. I only have to follow my heart and concentrate on what I want to say to the world. I run my world.” – Beyoncé
54. “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
55. “Feminism is about giving women choice. Feminism is not a stick with which to beat other women with.” – Emma Watson
56. “I’d rather regret the things I’ve done than regret the things I haven’t done.” — Lucille Ball
57. I have learned that as long as I hold fast to my beliefs and values – and follow my own moral compass – then the only expectations I need to live up to are my own.” – Michelle Obama
58. “It took me quite a long time to develop a voice and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent.” — Madeleine Albright
59. “You could certainly say that I’ve never underestimated myself. There’s nothing wrong with being ambitious.” – Angela Merkel
60. “A strong woman understands that the gifts such as logic, decisiveness, and strength are just as feminine as intuition and emotional connection. She values and uses all of her gifts.” — Nancy Rathburn
61. “If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman.” – Margaret Thatcher
62. “Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.” – Nora Ephron
63. “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” – Anaïs Nin
64. “If you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.” — Erica Jong
65. “I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” – Audre Lorde
66. “Women don’t need to find a voice, they have a voice, and they need to feel empowered to use it, and people need to be encouraged to listen.” – Meghan Markle
67. “I am not ashamed to dress ‘like a woman’ because I don’t think it’s shameful to be a woman.” – Iggy Pop
68. “There is a stubbornness about me that can never bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.” – Jane Austen
69. “Be a first rate version of yourself, not a second rate version of someone else.”– Judy Garland
70. “Of course I am not worried about intimidating men. The type of man who will be intimidated by me is exactly the type of man I have no interest in.” – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
71. “We do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all of the power we need inside ourselves already.” – J.K. Rowling
72. "My mother told me to be a lady. And for her, that meant to be your own person, be independent." — Ruth Bader Ginsburg
73. “[Unlikeable women] accept the consequences of their choices, and those consequences become stories worth reading.” – Roxane Gay
74. “You can’t please everyone, and you can’t make everyone like you.” – Katie Couric
75. “One of the secrets to staying young is to always do things you don’t know how to do, to keep learning.” —Ruth Reichl
76. “Each time a woman stands up for herself, she stands up for all women.” – Maya Angelou
77. “I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves.” – Mary Shelley
78. “A huge part of being a feminist is giving other women the freedom to make choices you might not necessarily make yourself.” – Lena Dunham
79. “The question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” – Ayn Rand
80. “Courage, sacrifice, determination, commitment, toughness, heart, talent, guts. That’s what little girls are made of; the heck with sugar and spice.”– Bethany Hamilton
81. “Like art, revolutions come from combining what exists into what has never existed before.” – Gloria Steinem
82. “Whatever you do, be different – that was the advice my mother gave me, and I can’t think of better advice for an entrepreneur. If you’re different, you will stand out.” — Anita Roddick
83. “I raise up my voice—not so I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard.” – Malala Yousafzai
84. “Every woman’s success should be an inspiration to another. We’re strongest when we cheer each other on.” – Serena Williams
85. "The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity." — Amelia Earhart
86. “Women, we endure those cuts in so many ways that we don’t even notice we’re cut. We are living with small tiny cuts, and we are bleeding every single day. And we’re still getting up.” – Michelle Obama
85. “I can’t think of any better representation of beauty than someone who is unafraid to be herself.” – Emma Stone
86. "I am an example of what is possible when girls from the very beginning of their lives are loved and nurtured by people around them. I was surrounded by extraordinary women in my life who taught me about quiet strength and dignity." — Michelle Obama
87. "I can’t think of any better representation of beauty than someone who is unafraid to be herself.” – Emma Stone
88. "I am an example of what is possible when girls from the very beginning of their lives are loved and nurtured by people around them. I was surrounded by extraordinary women in my life who taught me about quiet strength and dignity." — Michelle Obama
89. "Figure out who you are separate from your family, and the man or woman you’re in a relationship with. Find who you are in this world and what you need to feel good alone. I think that’s the most important thing in life. Find a sense of self because with that, you can do anything else." — Angelina Jolie
90. "Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong." — Ella Fitzgerald
91. “A lot of people are afraid to say what they want. That’s why they don’t get what they want." — Madonna
92. “Feminism is not just about women; it’s about letting all people lead fuller lives.” – Jane Fonda
93. "Instead of looking at the past, I put myself ahead twenty years and try to look at what I need to do now in order to get there then." — Diana Ross
94. "My mother told me to be a lady. And for her, that meant to be your own person, be independent." —Ruth Bader Ginsburg
95. “I always did something I was a little not ready to do. I think that’s how you grow. When there’s that moment of ‘Wow, I’m not really sure I can do this,’ and you push through those moments, that’s when you have a breakthrough.” — Marissa Mayer
96. “I hope that my presence on your screen and my face in magazines may lead you young girls on a beautiful journey, that you will feel validation of your external beauty, but also get to the deeper business of being beautiful inside.’ — Lupita Nyong’o
97. “Feminism is not dead, by no means. It has evolved. If you don’t like the term, change it for Goddess’ sake. Call it Aphrodite, or Venus, or bimbo, or whatever you want; the name doesn’t matter, as long as we understand what it is about, and we support it.” — Isabel Allende
98. "We’ve begun to raise daughters more like sons, but few have the courage to raise our sons more like our daughters.” — Gloria Steinem
99. "You deserve to be here. You deserve to exist. You deserve to take up space in this world of men." — MacKenzi Lee
100. “When I believe in something, I’m like a dog with a bone.” — Melissa McCarthy
101. "Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained.” —Marie Curie
102. "Feminism is the radical notion that women are people." — Marie Shear
103. “Feminism is not a dirty word. It does not mean you hate men. It does not mean you hate girls that have nice legs and a tan, and it does not mean you are a bitch or a dyke, it means you believe in equality.” —Kate Nash
104. "Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them." — Margaret Atwood
105. “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” — Jane Goodall
106. “We need to encourage girls that their voice matters. I think there are hundreds and thousands of Malalas out there.” — Malala Yousafzai
107. “I try to live in a little bit of my own joy and not let people steal it or take it.” — Hoda Kotb
108. “We need women who are so strong they can be gentle, so educated they can be humble, so fierce they can be compassionate, so passionate they can be rational, and so disciplined they can be free.” — Kavita Ramdas
109. "Security is mostly a superstition. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." — Helen Keller
110. "Find ecstasy in life; the mere sense of living is joy enough." — Emily Dickinson
111. "I'm not going to limit myself just because people won't accept the fact that I can do something else." — Dolly Parton
112. “I choose to make the rest of my life the best of my life.” — Louise Hay
113. "It's hard not to be a fighter when you're constantly under siege." — Cassandra Duffy
114. "When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn." — Harriet Beecher Stowe
115. "We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated." — Maya Angelou
116. “Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.” — Mother Teresa
117. "You are more powerful than you know; you are beautiful just as you are." — Melissa Etheridge
118. "I always thought that people told you that you're beautiful--that this was a title that was bestowed upon you ... I think that it's time to take this power into our own hands and to say, 'You know what? I'm beautiful. I just am. And that's my light. I'm just a beautiful woman.' — Margaret Cho
119. “Women will only have true equality when men share with them the responsibility of bringing up the next generation.” — Ruth Bader Ginsburg
120. “Imperfections are beauty, madness is genius, and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.”– Marilyn Monroe
121. "Responsibility to yourself means refusing to let others do your thinking, talking, and naming for you; it means learning to respect and use your own brains and instincts; hence, grappling with hard work." — Adrienne Rich
122. “Doubt is a killer. You just have to know who you are and what you stand for.” — Jennifer Lopez
123. "The price way pay for being ourselves is worth it." — Eartha Kitt
124. "The only thing required to be a woman is to identify as one." — Amanda Lovelace
125. "What is feminism? Simply the belief that women should be as free as men, however nuts, dim, deluded, badly dressed, fat, receding, lazy and smug they might be. Are you a feminist? Of course, you are." — Caitlin Moran
Here are three influential women on what they want girls everywhere to know!
