54 Quotes From Strong Women to Inspire

“Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others.” —Amelia Earhart

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

“The beauty of being a feminist is that you get to be whatever you want. And that’s the point.” —Shondra Rhimes

"In too many instances, the march to globalization has also meant the marginalization of women and girls. And that must change." —Hillary Clinton

“Champions keep playing until they get it right.” —Billie Jean King

“I encourage women to step up. Don’t wait for somebody to ask you.” —Reese Witherspoon

“My mother told me to be a lady. And for her, that meant be your own person, be independent.” —Ruth Bader Ginsburg

"Don't think about making women fit the world — think about making the world fit women.” —Gloria Steinem

"You must love and care for yourself because that's when the best comes out.” —Tina Turner

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

“The most alluring thing a woman can have is confidence.” —Beyoncé Knowles

“I’d rather regret the risks that didn’t work out than the chances I didn’t take at all.” —Simone Biles

“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” —Judy Garland

“There’s something 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

"Women are the real architects of society." —Cher

“Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult.” —Charlotte Whitton

“Ignore the glass ceiling and do your work. If you’re focusing on the glass ceiling, focusing on what you don’t have, focusing on the limitations, then you will be limited.” —Ava DuVernay

“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.” —Anonymous

“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

“I think the truth of the matter is, people who end up as ‘first’ don’t actually set out to be first. They set out to do something they love and it just so happens that they are the first to do it.” —Condoleezza Rice 

“I am learning every day to allow the space between where I am and where I want to be to inspire me and not terrify me.” —Tracee Ellis Ross

“Females are the most beautiful, gorgeous creatures in the whole world. And I think that we are gorgeous no matter what size we are.” —Alicia Keys

“If you don’t see a clear path for what you want, sometimes you have to make it yourself.” —Mindy Kaling

“If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then, you are an excellent leader.” —Dolly Parton

“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

“We must reject not only the stereotypes that others hold of us, but also the stereotypes that we hold of ourselves.” —Shirley Chisholm

“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

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

“Bring your whole self to the experience. Because the more we do that, the more that people get to see that, the more comfortable everybody's gonna be with it." —Bozoma Saint John

“Strong women don’t have ‘attitudes’, we have standards.” —Marilyn Monroe

“Strong women, that's who I really respect.” —Victoria Beckham

"Girls should never be afraid to be smart.” —Emma Watson

“A strong woman is a woman determined to do something others are determined not be done.” —Marge Piercy

“A woman with a voice is, by definition, a strong woman. But the search to find that voice can be remarkably difficult.” —Melinda Gates

“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

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

“Women have discovered that they cannot rely on men’s chivalry to give them justice.” —Helen Keller

“Stay strong. Stand up. Have a voice.” —Shawn Johnson East

“I always wanted to be a femme fatale. Even when I was a young girl, I never really wanted to be a girl. I wanted to be a woman.” —Diane Von Furstenberg

“I say if I’m beautiful. I say if I’m strong. You will not determine my story—I will.” —Amy Schumer

"Learn to embrace your own unique beauty, celebrate your unique gifts with confidence. Your imperfections are actually a gift.” —Kerry Washington

"If you can dance and be free and be embarrassed, you can rule the world." —Amy Poehler

“Women that believe in each other can survive anything. Women who believe in each other create armies that will win kingdoms and wars.” —Nikita Gill

“Once I learned to like me more than others did, then I didn't have to worry about being the funniest or the most popular or the prettiest. I was the best me and I only ever tried to be that." —Issa Rae

“In a world that wants women to whisper, I choose to yell.” —Luvvie Ajayi

“I am woman phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, that’s me.” —Maya Angelou

“You don’t have to be pretty. You don’t owe prettiness to anyone. Prettiness is not a rent you pay for occupying a space marked ‘female.'” —Erin McKean

“Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.” —Nora Ephron

“You don’t have to play masculine to be a strong woman.” —Mary Elizabeth Winstead

“I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” —Audre Lorde

“A really strong woman accepts the war she went through and is ennobled by her scars.” —Carly Simon

“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

“We need to get women to the point where they aren’t apologizing. It’s time to take ownership in our success.” —Tory Burch

“Women are like teabags. We don’t know our true strength until we are in hot water.” —Eleanor Roosevelt