100 Inspirational Quotes for Women

March is the home of Women's History Month, so it's a great time to reflect on the amazing women that have helped changed the world and the special women in your life that have changed you. For centuries, powerful women have been fighting for equal rights and respect. And while we've made some progress, we still have a long way to go.  

Read below for some inspirational quotes about women, and from women that have helped mold our society. This Women's History Month, consider lending your support to the cause of equal rights. And don't forget to tell the special women in your life how much they mean to you! 

1. "Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. It shouldn't be that women are the exception." - Ruth Bader Ginsburg
2. "A woman is like a tea bag: you can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water." - Eleanor Roosevelt
3. "How important it is for us to recognize our heroes and she-roes!" - Maya Angelou
4. "I figure, if a girl wants to be a legend, she should go ahead and be one." - Calamity Jane
5. "A woman with a voice is by definition a strong woman. But the search to find that voice can be remarkable difficult."- Melinda Gates
6. "Girls should never be afraid to be smart." - Emma Watson
7. "I raise up my voice—not so I can shout but so that those without a voice can be heard… We cannot succeed when half of us are held back." - Malala Yousafzai
8. "Men should think twice before making widowhood women's only path to power." - Gloria Steinem
9. "A girl should be two things: who and what she wants." - Coco Chanel
10. "Be a first-rate version of yourself, not a second-rate version of someone else." - Judy Garland
11. "Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness." - Oprah Winfrey
12. "Women, they have minds, and they have souls, as well as just hearts. And they've got ambition, and they've got talent, as well as just beauty. I'm so sick of people saying that love is all a woman is fit for." - Louisa May Alcott, Little Women
13. "I'm not going to limit myself just because people won't accept the fact that I can do something else." - Dolly Parton
14. "There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish." - Michelle Obama
15. "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
16. "I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own." - Audre Lorde
17. "Do not live someone else's life and someone else's idea of what womanhood is. Womanhood is you. Womanhood is everything that's inside of you." - Viola Davis
18. "We need to understand that there is no formula for how women should lead their lives. That is why we must respect the choices that each woman makes for herself and her family. Every woman deserves the chance to realize her God-given potential." - Hilary Clinton
19. "Who made man the exclusive judge, if women partake with him the gift of reason?" - Mary Wollstonecraft
20. "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
21. "A strong woman is a woman determined to do something others are determined not to be done." - Marge Piercy
22. "Well-behaved women rarely make history." - Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
23. "Justice is about making sure that being polite is not the same thing as being quiet. In fact, oftentimes, the most righteous thing you can do is shake the table." - Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
24. "I'm a damsel. I'm in distress. I can handle this. Have a nice day!" - Megara, Hercules
25. "A strong woman looks a challenge dead in the eye and gives it a wink." - Gina Carey
26. "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
27. "One life is all we have and we live it as we believe in living it. But to sacrifice what you are and to live without belief, that is a fate more terrible than dying." - Joan of Arc
28. "Behind every great woman…is another great woman." - Kate Hodges
29. "At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can." - Frida Kahlo
30. "Figure out who you are separate from your family, and the man or women 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. With that, you can do anything else." - Angelina Jolie
31. "I declare to you that woman must not depend upon the protection of man, but must be taught to protect herself, and there I take my stand." - Susan B. Anthony
32. "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, We Should All Be Feminists
33. "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
34. "As long as she thinks of a man, nobody objects to a woman thinking." - Virginia Woolf, Orlando
35. "A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous." - Coco Chanel

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36. "A really strong woman accepts the war she went through and is ennobled by her scars." - Carly Simon
37. "No woman can call herself free who does not control her own body." - Margaret Sanger
38. "Don't let anyone speak for you, and don't rely on others to fight for you." - Michelle Obama
39. "I really think a champion is defined not by their wins but by how they can recover when they fall." - Serena Williams
40. "The question isn't who's going to let me; it's who's going to stop me." - Ayn Rand
41. "I am grateful to be a woman. I must have done something great in another life." - Maya Angelou
42. "A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture and transform." - Diane Mariechild
43. "Everyone has inside of her a piece of good news. The good news is that you don't know great you can be, how much you can love, what you can accomplish, and what your potential is." - Anne Frank
44. "If I say I'm beautiful…If I say I'm strong. You will not determine my story - I will." - Amy Schumer
45. "No woman should be made to fear that she was not enough." - Samantha Shannon
46. "Feminism isn't about making women stronger. Women are already strong, it's about changing the way the world perceives that strength." - G. D Anderson
47. "I am woman, I am fearless, I am sexy, I'm divine. I'm unbeatable, I'm creative, Honey, you can get in line." - Emmy Meli, I Am Woman
48. "Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold." - Helen Keller
49. "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
50. "Girls, come on. Leaving the saving of the world to the men? I don't think so!" - Elastigirl, The Incredibles
51. "The emerging woman ... will be strong-minded, strong-hearted, strong-souled, and strong-bodied...strength and beauty must go together." - Louisa May Alcott
52. "I myself have never been able to find out precisely what feminism is: I only know that people call me a feminist whenever I express sentiments that differentiate me from a doormat." - Rebecca West
53. "You have to have confidence in your ability, and then be tough enough to follow through." - Rosalynn Carter
54. "I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will." - Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre
55. "Once you figure out what respect tastes like, it tastes better than attention." - P!nk
56. "In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a woman." - Margaret Thatcher
57. "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
58. "A strong woman understands that the gifts such as logic, decisiveness, and strength are just as feminine as intuition and emotional connection. She values all and uses all of her gifts." - Nancy Rathburn
59. "Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim." - Nora Ephron
60. "We need to reshape our own perception of how we view ourselves. We have to step up as women and take the lead." - Beyoncé
61. "Tremendous amounts of talent are being lost to our society just because that talent wears a skirt" - Shirley Chrisholm
62. "Women will have reached true equality when men share with them the responsibility of bringing up the next generation." - Ruth Bader Ginsburg
63. "Each time a woman stands up for herself, she stands up for all women." - Maya Angelou
64. "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." - Eleanor Roosevelt
65. "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
66. "I have learned over the years that when one's mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear." - Rosa Parks
67. "Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world." - Hilary Clinton
68. "If you retain nothing else, always remember the most important rule of beauty, which is: who cares?" - Tina Fey
69. "The most alluring thing a woman can have is confidence." - Beyoncé
70. "Some leaders are born women." - Geraldine Ferraro
71. "She was a wild one; always stomping on eggshells that everyone else tip-toed on." - Kaitlin Foster
72. "My mother told me to be a lady. And for her, that meant be your own person, be independent." - Ruth Badger Ginsburg
73. "I am a woman and a warrior. If you think I can't be both, you've been lied to." - Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar
74. "I just love bossy women. I could be around them all day. To me, bossy is not a pejorative term at all. It means somebody's passionate and engaged and ambitious and doesn't mind learning." - Amy Poehler
75. "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

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76. "Change happens by listening and then starting a dialogue with the people who are doing something you don't believe is right." - Jane Goodall
77. "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
78. "No country can ever truly flourish if it stifles the potential of its women and deprives itself of the contributions of half its citizens" - Michelle Obama
79. "I never dreamed about success. I worked for it." - Estée Lauder
80. "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
81. "Doubt is a killer. You just have to know who you are and what you stand for." - Jennifer Lopez
82. "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 Clinton
83. "I've come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that's as unique as a footprint - 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
84. "Women, if the soul of the nation is to be saved, I believe you must become its soul." - Coretta Scott King
85. "I've been absolutely terrified every moment of my life—and I've never let it keep me from doing a single thing I wanted to do." - Georgia O'Keeffe
86. "Men often ask me, 'Why are your female characters so paranoid?' It's not paranoia. It's recognition of their situation." - Margaret Atwood
87. "Women should do for themselves what men have already done—occasionally what men have not done—thereby establishing themselves as persons, and perhaps encouraging other women toward greater independence of thought and action." - Amelia Earhart
88. "I try to live in a little bit of my own joy and not let people steal it or take it." - Hoda Kotb
89. "There's power in allowing yourself to be known and heard, in owning your unique story, in using your authentic voice." - Michelle Obama
90. "Let us make our future now, and let us make our dreams tomorrow's reality." - Malala Yousafzai
91. "It's not about how many times you get rejected or fall down or are beaten up, it's about how many times you stand up and are brave and you keep on going." - Lady Gaga
92. "Women's work is never easy, never clean." - Tayari Jones, An American Marriage
93. "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
94. "Every woman's success should be an inspiration to another. We're strongest when we cheer each other on." - Serena Williams
95. "Women have always been the strong ones of the world." - Coco Chanel
96. "The biggest barrier for women is the thought that they can't have it all" - Cathy Engelbert  
97. "Hear me as a woman./Have me as your sister./On purpled battlefield breaking day,/So I might say our victory is just beginning,/See me as change,/Say I am movement,/That I am the year,/and I am the era/of the women." - Amanda Gorman
98. "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
99. "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
100. "My movement is my movement. When all the dust has settled on the groundbreaking-ness, I'm going to still be doing this. I'm not going to suddenly change. I'm going to still be telling my life story through music. And if that's body-positive to you, amen. If that's feminist to you, amen. If that's pro-black to you, amen. Because ma'am, I'm all of those things." - Lizzo

 Hopefully, these powerful quotes about womanhood, feminism, and women's rights have made you feel inspired for Women's History Month and beyond. Let these trailblazing and history-making female voices be a call to action to further equality, women's education and empowerment! 

Kelsey Caldwell is a realtor and freelance writer from Charlotte, NC. She and her husband are parents to two amazing kids, a puppy, and rabbit.  

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