Ignite Your Inner Fire With These 125+ Empowering Quotes From Some of the Strongest Women in History

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 may be, there's nothing quite like reading some of the best women empowerment quotes to get you through—especially when they're spoken by some of the strongest women in history. Here are 125+ women empowerment quotesto help ignite your inner female fire when you need it most. 

Related: 100+ International Women's Day Quotes

Best 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. "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

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6. "No one changes the world who isn't obsessed."  ― Billie Jean King

7. "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

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 

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. "I learned a long time ago that there is something worse than missing the goal, and that's not pulling the trigger." ― Mia Hamm 

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Women's Empowerment Quotes To Motivate You

15. "A woman is like a tea bag—you can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water." ― Eleanor Roosevelt 

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've never been interested in being invisible and erased."  ― Laverne Cox 

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. "The beauty of standing up for your rights is others see you standing and stand up as well."  ― Cassandra Duffy 

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. "Cautious, careful people, always casting about to preserve their reputations can never effect a reform." ― Susan B. Anthony

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Short Women's Empowerment Quotes

50. "If you find someone you love in your life, then hang on to that love." ― Princess Diana

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. "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

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Inspiring Women's Empowerment Quotes

70. "Be a first rate version of yourself, not a second rate version of someone else." ― Judy Garland

71. "To be afraid is to behave as if the truth were not true."  ― Dolly Parton

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

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. "I don't know what I am if I'm not a woman."  ― Marsha P. Johnson

90. "I write for those women who do not speak, for those who do not have a voice because they were so terrified, because we are taught to respect fear more than ourselves. We've been taught that silence would save us, but it won't."  ― Audre Lorde

91. "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

92. "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

93. "A lot of people are afraid to say what they want. That's why they don't get what they want."  ― Madonna

94. "Feminism is not just about women; it's about letting all people lead fuller lives."  ― Jane Fonda

95. "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

96. "My mother told me to be a lady. And for her, that meant to be your own person, be independent."  ― Ruth Bader Ginsburg

97. "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

98. "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

99. "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

100. "We've begun to raise daughters more like sons, but few have the courage to raise our sons more like our daughters."  ― Gloria Steinem

101. "You deserve to be here. You deserve to exist. You deserve to take up space in this world of men."  ― MacKenzi Lee

102. "When I believe in something, I'm like a dog with a bone."  ― Melissa McCarthy

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Powerful Quotes About Women

103. "I'm always perpetually out of my comfort zone."  ― Tory Burch 

104. "Feminism is the radical notion that women are people."  ― Marie Shear

105. "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

106. "Men are afraid that women will laugh at them. Women are afraid that men will kill them."  ― Margaret Atwood

107. "What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make."  ― Jane Goodall

108. "We need to encourage girls that their voice matters. I think there are hundreds and thousands of Malalas out there."  ― Malala Yousafzai

109. "I try to live in a little bit of my own joy and not let people steal it or take it."  ― Hoda Kotb

110. "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

111. "Security is mostly a superstition. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."  ― Helen Keller

112. "Find ecstasy in life; the mere sense of living is joy enough."  ― Emily Dickinson

113. "I'm not going to limit myself just because people won't accept the fact that I can do something else."  ― Dolly Parton

114. "I choose to make the rest of my life the best of my life."  ― Louise Hay

115. "It's hard not to be a fighter when you're constantly under siege."  ― Cassandra Duffy

116. "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

117. "We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated."  ― Maya Angelou

118. "Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier."  ― Mother Teresa

119. "You are more powerful than you know; you are beautiful just as you are."  ― Melissa Etheridge

120. "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

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

122. "Imperfections are beauty, madness is genius, and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring."  ― Marilyn Monroe

123. "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

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

125. "The price we pay for being ourselves is worth it."  ― Eartha Kitt

126. "The only thing required to be a woman is to identify as one."  ― Amanda Lovelace

127. "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

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