Empowering Words: A Collection of Inspirational Quotes by Women

"A woman is like a tea bag — you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water."

- Eleanor Roosevelt

"It is past time for women to take their rightful place, side by side with men, in the rooms where the fates of peoples, where their children’s and grandchildren’s fates, are decided."

- Hillary Clinton

"I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life’s a bitch. You’ve got to go out and kick ass."

- Maya Angelou

"If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman."

- Margaret Thatcher

"We realize the importance of our voices only when they are silenced."

- Malala Yousafzai

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away."

- Maya Angelou

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

- Maya Angelou

"Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you."

- Oprah Winfrey

"After all those years as a woman hearing ‘not thin enough, not pretty enough, not smart enough, not this enough, not that enough,’ almost overnight I woke up one morning and thought, ‘I’m enough.’"

- Anna Quindlen

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."

- Eleanor Roosevelt

"A strong woman is a woman determined to do something others are determined not be done."

- Marge Piercy

"A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture and transform."

- Diane Mariechild

"We need to accept that we won’t always make the right decisions, that we’ll screw up royally sometimes – understanding that failure is not the opposite of success, it’s part of success."

- Arianna Huffington

"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

"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

"What I want young women and girls to know is: You are powerful and your voice matters."

- Kamala Harris

"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

"We cannot change what we are not aware of, and once we are aware, we cannot help but change."

- Sheryl Sandberg

"Don’t let anyone speak for you, and don’t rely on others to fight for you."

- Michelle Obama

"Our deepest wishes are whispers of our authentic self. We must learn to respect them. We must learn to listen."

- Sarah Ban Breathnach

"Define goal. Take action. Stay focused. Expect success. Nothing less."

- Michele Ruiz

"I think the girl who is able to earn her own living and pay her own way should be as happy as anybody on Earth. The sense of independence and security is very sweet."

- Susan B. Anthony

"Nothing is impossible. The word itself says, “I’m possible!”"

- Audrey Hepburn

"Every great dream begins with a dreamer."

- Harriet Tubman

"Be strong enough to stand alone, smart enough to know when you need help, and brave enough to ask for it."

- Ziad K. Abdelnour

"You have to have confidence in your ability, and then be tough enough to follow through."

- Rosalynn Carter

"Be a first-rate version of yourself, not a second-rate version of someone else."

- Judy Garland

"We can do no great things, only small things with great love."

- Mother Theresa

"The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud."

- Coco Chanel

"Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim."

- Nora Ephron

"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 we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained."

- Marie Curie

"Define success on your own terms, achieve it by your own rules, and build a life you’re proud to live."

- Anne Sweeney

"The true republic: men, their rights, and nothing more; women, their rights, and nothing less."

- Susan B. Anthony

"When you lift up women, you lift up families, you lift up communities, you lift up economies – and you lift up America."

- Kamala Harris

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

- Ruth Bader Ginsburg

"I want to build a community where women of all races can communicate and … continue to support and take care of each other. I want to give women a space to feel their own strength and tell their stories. That is power."

- Beyoncé

"You are more powerful than you know; you are beautiful just as you are."

- Melissa Etheridge

"I raise up my voice – not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard."

- Malala Yousafzai

"I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own."

- Audre Lorde

"The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any."

- Alice Walker

"I hear a lot of people saying, when talking about girls’ empowerment and women as well, you’ll often hear people saying, ‘You’re helping them find their voices’, I fundamentally disagree with that. Women don’t need to find their voice. They need to feel empowered to use it and people need to be encouraged to listen."

- Meghan Markle

"I have always believed that women are not victims; we are agents of change, we are drivers of progress, we are makers of peace—all we need is a fighting chance."

- Hillary Clinton

"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 are leaders everywhere you look—from the CEO who runs a Fortune 500 company to the housewife who raises her children and heads her household. Our country was built by strong women, and we will continue to break down walls and defy stereotypes."

- Nancy Pelosi

"A woman with a voice is, by definition, a strong woman."

- Melinda Gates

"When girls are educated, their countries become stronger and more prosperous."

- Michelle Obama

"What I know for sure is that speaking your truth is the most powerful tool we all have. And I’m especially proud, and inspired by all the women who have felt strong enough and empowered enough to speak up and share their personal stories."

- Oprah Winfrey

"Women need a seat at the table, they need an invitation to be seated there, and in some cases, where this is not available, they need to create their own table. We need a global understanding that we cannot implement change effectively without women’s political participation."

- Meghan Markle

"There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish, whether that’s in politics or other fields."

- Michelle Obama

"Human rights are women’s rights, and women’s rights are human rights. Let us not forget that among those rights are the right to speak freely—and the right to be heard."

- Hillary Clinton

"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

"We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back."

- Malala Yousafzai

"The world needs strong women. Women who will lift and build others, who will love and be loved, women who live bravely, both tender and fierce, women of indomitable will."

- Amy Tenney

"Each time a woman stands up for herself, she stands up for all women."

- Maya Angelou

"Strong women don’t play the victim. Don’t make themselves look pitiful and don’t point fingers. They stand and they deal."

- Mandy Hale

"Find out who you are and be that person. That’s what your soul was put on this Earth to be. Find that truth, live that truth and everything else will come."

- Ellen DeGeneres

"Don't limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember, you can achieve."

- Mary Kay Ash

"I am a woman with thoughts and questions and sh*t to say. I say if I’m beautiful. I say if I’m strong. You will not determine my story – I will."

- Amy Schumer

"Woman must not accept; she must challenge. She must not be awed by that which has been built up around her; she must reverence that woman in her which struggles for expression."

- Margaret Sanger

"Do one thing every day that scares you."

- Eleanor Roosevelt

"Don’t be intimidated by what you don’t know. That can be your greatest strength and ensure you do things differently from everyone else."

- Sara Blakely

"We have to become the men we wanted to marry."

- Gloria Steinem

"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

"Don’t ever underestimate the importance you can have because history has shown us that courage can be contagious and hope can take on a life of its own."

- Michelle Obama

"The best protection any woman can have … is courage."

- Elizabeth Cady Stanton

"I learned to always take on things I’d never done before. Growth and comfort do not coexist."

- Ginni Rometty

"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

"The most effective way to do it, is to do it."

- Amelia Earhart

"When anyone tells me I can’t do anything … I’m just not listening anymore."

- Florence Griffith Joyner

"Courage is like a muscle. We strengthen it by use."

- Ruth Gordon

"“No matter where you are on your journey, that’s exactly where you need to be. The next road is always ahead.”"

- Oprah Winfrey

"“Alone we can do little; together we can do so much.”"

- Helen Keller

"The power you have is to be the best version of yourself you can be, so you can create a better world."

- Ashley Rickards

"“Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.”"

- Mother Teresa

"“What’s the greatest lesson a woman should learn? That since day one, she’s already had everything she needs within herself. It’s the world that convinced her she did not.”"

- Rupi Kaur

"“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”"

- Eleanor Roosevelt

"I’ve come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that’s as unique as a fingerprint – and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you."

- Oprah Winfrey

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

- Oprah Winfrey

"Doubt is a killer. You just have to know who you are and what you stand for."

- Jennifer Lopez

"Always aim high, work hard, and care deeply about what you believe in. And, when you stumble, keep faith. And, when you’re knocked down, get right back up and never listen to anyone who says you can’t or shouldn’t go on."

- Hillary Rodham Clinton

"The question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who’s going to stop me."

- Ayn Rand

"Everyone has inside of her a piece of good news. The good news is that you don’t know how great you can be, how much you can love, what you can accomplish, and what your potential is."

- Anne Frank

"You must know that you can do this. You are strong. And you will make it. Just hang on and keep believing in yourself, always."

- Heather A. Stillufsen

"Women are like teabags. We don’t know our true strength until we are in hot water."

- Eleanor Roosevelt

"I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong, I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day, and I believe in miracles."

- Audrey Hepburn

"“Think like a Queen. A Queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another steppingstone to greatness.”"

- Oprah

"The problem that has no name—which is simply the fact that American women are kept from growing to their full human capacities—is taking a far greater toll on the physical and mental health of our country than any known disease."

- Betty Friedan

"You have to act as if it were possible to radically transform the world. And you have to do it all the time."

- Angela Davis

"I can promise you that women working together—linked, informed and educated—can bring peace and prosperity to this forsaken planet."

- Isabel Allende

"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

"They’ll tell you you’re too loud, that you need to wait your turn and ask the right people for permission. Do it anyway."

- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

"Each person must live their life as a model for others."

- Rosa Parks

"A feminist is a person who believes in the power of women just as much as they believe in the power of anyone else. It’s equality, it’s fairness, and I think it’s a great thing to be a part of."

- Zendaya

"Do not be afraid to make decisions. Do not be afraid to make mistakes."

- Carly Fiorina

"If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair."

- Shirley Chisholm

"Feminism is for everybody."

- Bell Hooks

"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

"If we’re not protecting our women and we’re not protecting our girls and we’re not protecting the most vulnerable people in this society, who are we as a country?"

- Deb Haaland

"A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be."

- Rosalynn Carter

"A gender-equal society would be one where the word ‘gender’ does not exist: where everyone can be themselves."

- Gloria Steinem

"I have never, ever focused on the negative of things. I always look at the positive."

- Sonia Sotomayor

"Women feel like we need permission… We need to lead and change that."

- Emma Watson

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

- Ruth Bader Ginsburg

"We can no longer let people in power decide what hope is. Hope is not passive. Hope is not ‘blah blah blah.’ Hope is telling the truth. Hope is taking action. And hope always comes from the people."

- Greta Thunberg

"Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence."

- Helen Keller

"We need to live in a culture that values and respects and looks up to and idolizes women as much as men."

- Emma Watson

"Feminism isn’t about making women strong. Women are already strong. It’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength."

- G.D. Anderson

"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

"Woman is shut up in a kitchen or in a boudoir, and astonishment is expressed that her horizon is limited. Her wings are clipped, and it is found deplorable that she cannot fly. Let but the future be opened to her, and she will no longer be compelled to linger in the present."

- Simone de Beauvoir

"We know that when a woman speaks truth to power, there will be attempts to put her down… I’m not going to go anywhere."

- Maxine Waters

"Don’t cut off your career branches too early. Don’t step away from your career based on what ‘might’ happen."

- Mary Barra

"That I am a national figure because I was the first person in 192 years to be at once a congressman, black, and a woman proves, I think, that our society is not yet either just or free."

- Shirley Chisholm

"I was taught to strive, not because there were any guarantees of success, but because the act of striving is in itself the only way to keep faith with life."

- Madeleine Albright

"A huge part of being a feminist is giving other women the freedom to make choices you might not necessarily make yourself."

- Lena Dunham

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

- Serena Williams

"I urge everyone here and everyone who hears my voice to join me in telling the stories that aren’t told. To honor the girls, the women of color, who are murdered at disproportionate rates in this nation. I urge each of you to help write the narrative for this world and understand, so that these girls and women are never forgotten."

- Naomi Wadler

"There are lots of opportunities out there for women to work in these fields; girls just need support, encouragement and mentoring to follow through with the sciences."

- Sally Ride

"After all, Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did. She just did it backward and in high heels."

- Ann Richards

"It’s not your job to like me, it’s mine."

- Byron Katie

"Success is getting what you want; happiness is wanting what you get."

- W. P. Kinsella

"Be the type of girl that climbs the ladder wrong by wrong."

- Mae West

"Women must try to do as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others."

- Amelia Earhart

"Any woman who understands the problems of running a home will be nearer to understanding the problems of running a country."

- Margaret Thatcher

"Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half their inferior. Luckily, this is not difficult."

- Charlotte Whitton

"Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow.”"

- Mary Anne Radmacher

"A woman with a voice is by definition a strong woman. But the search to find that voice can be remarkably difficult."

- Melinda Gates

"And the trouble is, if you don’t risk anything, you risk more."

- Erica Jong

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage."

- Anaïs Nin

"You only live once, but if you do it right, once is only enough."

- Mae West

"It is our choices, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."

- J.K. Rowling

"I used to walk down the street like I was a superstar… I want people to walk around delusional about how great they can be — and then to fight so hard for it every day that the lie becomes the truth."

- Lady Gaga

"A lot of people are afraid to say what they want. That’s why they don’t get what they want."

- Madonna

"Always concentrate on how far you have come, rather than how far you have left to go. The difference in how easy it seems will amaze you."

- Heidi Johnson

"“I figure if a girl wants to be a legend, she should go ahead and be one.”"

- Calamity Jane

"If you follow your heart, if you listen to your gut, and if you extend your hand to help another – not for any agenda, but for the sake of humanity – you are going to find the truth."

- Erin Brockovich

"There are two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who take the credit. Try to be in the first group; there is less competition there."

- Indira Gandhi

"What sets you apart can sometimes feel like a burden, and it’s not. And a lot of the time, it’s what makes you great."

- Emma Stone

"You create opportunities by performing, not complaining."

- Muriel Siebert

"None of us can know what we are capable of until we are tested."

- Elizabeth Blackwell

"The first problem for all of us, men and women, is not to learn, but to unlearn."

- Gloria Steinem

"Let us continue the work together and with others, toward the development of a better womanhood, a better manhood, and a better citizenship."

- Violet Richardson

"More and more women are realizing that only collective strength and action will allow us to be free to fight for the kind of society that meets basic human needs."

- Roxanne Dunbar

"I think that one thing that I do believe as a feminist is that in order for us to have gender equality we have to stop making it a girl fight and we have to stop being so interested in seeing girls trying to tear each other down, it has to be more about cheering each other on as women."

- Taylor Swift

"Women have been called queens for a long time, but the kingdom given them isn’t worth ruling."

- Louisa May Alcott

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

- Margaret Mead

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

- Calamity Jane

"And one day she discovered that she was fierce, and strong, and full of fire, and that not even she could hold herself back because her passion burned brighter than her fears."

- Mark Anthony

"She was powerful not because she wasn’t scared but because she went on so strongly, despite the fear."

- Atticus

"One of the most courageous things you can do is identify yourself, know who you are, what you believe in and where you want to go."

- Sheila Murray Bethel

"The woman who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has ever been before."

- Albert Einstein

"A really strong woman accepts the war she went through and is ennobled by her scars."

- Carly Simon

"Take criticism seriously, but not personally. If there is truth or merit in the criticism, try to learn from it. Otherwise, let it roll right off you."

- Hillary Clinton

"Success is getting what you want, happiness is wanting what you get."

- Ingrid Bergman

"Not knowing you can’t do something, is sometimes all it takes to do it."

- Ally Carter

"When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us."

- Helen Keller

"If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not making decisions."

- Catherine Cook

"Girls are weighed down by restrictions, boys with demands—two equally harmful disciplines."

- Simone de Beauvoir

"I often like to talk about feminism not as something that adheres to bodies, not as something grounded in gendered bodies, but as an approach—as a way of conceptualizing, as a methodology, as a guide to strategies for struggle."

- Angela Davis

"Be less curious about people and more curious about ideas."

- Marie Curie

"To stay ahead, you must have your next idea waiting in the wings."

- Rosabeth Moss Kanter

"The price of inaction is far greater than the cost of a mistake."

- Meg Whitman

"Some leaders are born women."

- Geraldine Ferraro

"I don’t care what you think about me. I don’t think about you at all."

- Coco Chanel

"“There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.”"

- Edith Wharton

"I dwell in possibility."

- Emily Dickinson

"Expect the unexpected, and whenever possible, be the unexpected."

- Lynda Barry

"The secret of getting ahead is getting started."

- Mark Twain

"When a woman is assaulted, one of the first questions people ask is, Did you say no? This question assumes that the answer was always yes, and that it is her job to revoke the agreement. To defuse the bomb she was given. But why are they allowed to touch us until we physically fight them off? Why is the door open until we have to slam it shut?"

- Chanel Miller

"If we are going to be part of the solution, we have to engage the problems."

- Majora Carter

"If you don’t like being a doormat then get off the floor."

- Al Anon

"“You’ve always had the power, my dear, you just had to learn it for yourself.”"

- Glinda the Good Witch

"I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list."

- Susan Sontag

"“The more you love your decisions, the less you need others to love them.”"

- Lisa Messenger

"“Always show more kindness than seems necessary because the person receiving it needs it more than you will ever know.”"

- Colin Powell

"Never apologize for being a powerful woman."

"When a woman becomes her own best friend life is easier."

"A strong woman stands up for herself. A stronger woman stands up for everybody else."

- Unknown

"Don’t underestimate the power of words. Words can motivate, inspire, educate, energize and mobilize."

"“A strong person is not the one who doesn’t fall down and doesn’t cry. The strong person falls, cries, and then gets up and keeps going.”"

"“Whether through work or love or art, life becomes more meaningful whenever we take responsibility for something or someone. Responsibility is not always pleasurable or even positive, but it is purposeful.”"

"“May you be free from harm. May you be strong and healthy. May you be happy. May you live a life filled with ease.”"

"“The foundation of your wellness journey is presence – quieting the chatter in your head, feeling yourself in the moment and knowing you are okay. Presence leads to clarity, and ultimately, to the joy of being alive. Be present. Let go of yesterday. Put thoughts of tomorrow at bay. You are here. Now. Full of energy. Flooded with calm. Engaged in this one and only moment.”"

"God is within her, she will not fall."

"She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future."

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made."

"By the grace of God, I am what I am."

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

"“And then I realized that to be more alive I had to be less afraid so I did it…I lost my fear and gained my whole life.”"

"“Always remember you are BRAVER than you believe, STRONGER than you seem, SMARTER than you think & LOVED more than you know.”"

"“A strong woman knows she has strength enough for the journey, but a woman of strength knows it is in the journey where she will become strong.”"