Inspirational Quotes By Women — Happy International Women’s Day! Today marks a global celebration of women’s achievements towards greater equality politically, economically, socially and culturally. It is a day of celebration for the progress already made and a day to inspire action towards greater change.
This year, Canada’s theme for International Women’s Day is Every Woman Counts.
“It’s a reminder that all women, from all ages and walks of life, have a place in every aspect of Canadian society, including in the economic, social and democratic spheres. Let’s celebrate the successful women around us, reminding today’s youth and girls that their dream is within reach.”
Head on over to the Government of Canada’s IWD website to learn more about all the ways to get involved with this important day and to access their digital toolkit, where you can download visuals to use on your social media channels or virtual meetings.
In honour of this special day, I’ve compiled a list of inspirational quotes by inspirational women. Happy International Women’s Day, friends! Let this day remind us to celebrate each other’s successes and lift each other up. ♡
Read more: 20+ Maya Angelou Quotes About Self-Love
50+ Inspirational Quotes By Inspiring Women
1. “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” – Jane Goodall
2. “If you don’t get out of the box you’ve been raised in, you won’t understand how much bigger the world is.” – Angelina Jolie
3. “A woman is like a tea bag – you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
4. “People who are truly strong lift others up. People who are truly powerful bring others together.” – Michelle Obama
5. “Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m Possible’!” – Audrey Hepburn
6. “When someone shows you who they are believe them; the first time.” – Maya Angelou
7. “We can’t become what we need to be by remaining what we are.” – Oprah Winfrey
8. “You can tell more about a person by what he says about others than you can by what others say about him.” – Audrey Hepburn
9. “Turn your wounds into wisdom.” – Oprah Winfrey
10. “Happy girls are the prettiest.” – Audrey Hepburn
11. “A good compromise is one where everybody makes a contribution.” – Angela Merkel
12. “Happiness is not a goal…it’s a by-product of a life well lived.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
13. “Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not.” – Oprah Winfrey
14. “You can be gorgeous at thirty, charming at forty, and irresistible for the rest of your life.” – Coco Chanel
15. “Over the years, I’ve interviewed thousands of people, most of them women, and I would say that the root of every dysfunction I’ve ever encountered, every problem, has been some sense of a lacking of self-value or of self-worth.” – Oprah Winfrey
16. “People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.” – Audrey Hepburn
17. “Every day brings a chance for you to draw in a breath, kick off your shoes, and dance.” – Oprah Winfrey
18. “If I had to live my life again, I’d make the same mistakes, only sooner.” – Tallulah Bankhead
19. “I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw some things back.” – Maya Angelou
20. “I believe it’s time that women truly owned their superpowers and used their beauty and strength to change the world around them.” – Janelle Monae
21. “My hope is that in the future, women stop referring to themselves as ‘the only woman’ in their physics lab or ‘only one of two’ in their computer science jobs.” – Kirsten Gillibrand
22. “I hope the fathers and mothers of little girls will look at them and say ‘yes, women can.’” – Dilma Rousseff
23. “You may live in the world as it is, but you can still work to create the world as it should be.” – Michelle Obama
24. “When we speak we are afraid our words will not be heard or welcomed. But when we are silent, we are still afraid. So it is better to speak.” – Audre Lorde
25. “Good things aren’t supposed to just fall into your lap. God is very generous, but he expects you to do your part first.” – Audrey Hepburn
26. “Feminism is not just about women; it’s about letting all people lead fuller lives.” – Jane Fonda
27. “The problem with people is they forget that most of the time it’s the small things that count.” – Jennifer Niven
28. “Be messy and complicated and afraid and show up anyways.” – Glennon Doyle Melton
29. “When a man gives his opinion, he’s a man. When a woman gives her opinion, she’s a bitch.” – Bette Davis
30. “When a woman becomes her own best friend life is easier.” – Diane Von Furstenberg
31. “We still think of a powerful man as a born leader and a powerful woman as an anomaly.” – Margaret Atwood
32. “Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness.” – Oprah Winfrey
33. “Learn to value yourself, which means: fight for your happiness.” – Ayn Rand
34. “If we revert to history, we shall find that the women who have distinguished themselves have neither been the most beautiful nor the most gentle of their sex.” – Mary Wollstonecraft
35. “Knowing what must be done does away with fear.” – Rosa Parks
36. “As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.” – Audrey Hepburn
37. “Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently.” – Maya Angelou
38. “Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.” – Nora Ephron
39. “The beauty of a woman is seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides.” – Audrey Hepburn
40. “Feminism is the radical notion that women are people.” – Marie Shear
41. “Anytime a woman competes with another woman she demeans herself.” – Sherry Argov
42. “When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful.” – Malala Yousafzai
43. “No one invites you to the top – you have to claw your way up. When you get there, you will sit with the others who were also uninvited – giggling. ” – Staness Jonekos
44. “The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” – Ayn Rand
45. “It’s been my experience that you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that you will.” – Lucy Maud Montgomery
46. “Even to me the issue of “stay small, sweet, quiet, and modest” sounds like an outdated problem, but the truth is that women still run into those demands whenever we find and use our voices.” – Brené Brown
47. “I raise up my voice—not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard. … We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.” – Malala Yousafzai
48. “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
49. “I think the best role models for women are people who are fruitfully and confidently themselves, who bring light into the world.” – Meryl Streep
50. “I deserve better —such a dangerous, mad thought for a woman to entertain.” – Meredith Duran
51. “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
52. “Step out of the history that is holding you back. Step into the new story you are willing to create.” – Oprah Winfrey
53. “It’s not my responsibility to be beautiful. I’m not alive for that purpose. My existence is not about how desirable you find me.” – Warsan Shire
54. “For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.” – Audrey Hepburn
55. “If any female feels she need anything beyond herself to legitimate and validate her existence, she is already giving away her power to be self-defining, her agency.” – bell hooks
56. “I’m not going to limit myself just because people won’t accept the fact that I can do something else.” – Dolly Parton
57. “…her wings are cut and then she is blamed for not knowing how to fly.” – Simone de Beauvoir
How will you be honouring International Women’s Day (IWD)? Which of these inspirational quotes by inspiring women is your favourite? What does IWD mean to you? Who are the women in your life that you celebrate? How will you be showing yourself some self-love today? I want to hear it all – leave me a comment below!
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