Empowerment isn’t a feeling. It’s a decision — one you make on the days when you don’t feel powerful at all.
The women in this collection built companies, led movements, broke records, and rewrote rules. They didn’t write these lines from the top of the mountain. They wrote them from the climb — from the moment they decided to keep going anyway.
Use this list when you need to remember that. Find the section that fits where you are. Screenshot the one that lands. Send it to a woman who needs it today.
Strong Women Quotes
These are the lines that last. Written by women who faced real resistance and chose to keep going anyway.
- “Women belong in all places where decisions are being made.” — Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” — Alice Walker
- “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.” — Elizabeth Warren
- “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” — Shirley Chisholm
- “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
- “Well-behaved women seldom make history.” — Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
- “I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves.” — Mary Wollstonecraft
- “Power’s not given to you. You have to take it.” — Beyoncé
- “I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.” — Angela Davis
- “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” — Maya Angelou
- “We realize the importance of our voices only when we are silenced.” — Malala Yousafzai
- “Some women are lost in the fire. Some women are built from it.” — Michelle K.
- “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
- “I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” — Audre Lorde
- “A woman with a voice is, by definition, a strong woman.” — Melinda Gates
- “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” — Audre Lorde
- “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
- “The question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who’s going to stop me.” — Ayn Rand
- “She was unstoppable. Not because she did not have failures or doubts, but because she continued on despite them.” — Beau Taplin
- “She remembered who she was, and the game changed.” — Lalah Delia
Motivational Quotes for Women
For the meeting you didn’t want to take, the pitch you’ve been avoiding, the email you keep rewriting.
- “I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.” — Estée Lauder
- “Done is better than perfect.” — Sheryl Sandberg
- “The most effective way to do it, is to do it.” — Amelia Earhart
- “I had to make my own living and my own opportunity. But I made it! Don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come; get up and make them.” — Madam C.J. Walker
- “Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of possibility into flames of achievement.” — Golda Meir
- “Whatever you do, be different — that was the advice my mother gave me, and I can’t think of better advice for an entrepreneur.” — Anita Roddick
- “On my own I will just create, and if it works, it works, and if it doesn’t, I’ll create something else.” — Oprah Winfrey
- “I want every little girl who’s been told she’s bossy to be told again she has leadership skills.” — Sheryl Sandberg
- “We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained.” — Marie Curie
- “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” — Margaret Mead
- “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” — Anaïs Nin
- “You are imperfect, you are wired for struggle, but you are also worthy of love and belonging.” — Brené Brown
- “Courage starts with showing up and letting ourselves be seen.” — Brené Brown
- “I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning how to sail my ship.” — Louisa May Alcott
- “I really think a champion is defined not by their wins, but by how they can recover when they fall.” — Serena Williams
- “The reason I made it is because I said yes to every opportunity.” — Issa Rae
- “Hope is a discipline.” — Mariame Kaba
- “I’m thankful for my struggle because without it, I wouldn’t have stumbled across my strength.” — Alex Elle
- “We can do hard things.” — Glennon Doyle
- “Joy is an act of resistance.” — Toi Derricotte
If you want a structured way to act on what these quotes stir up, the BestSelf Self Journal has a daily intention space built for exactly this — turning a single line into a week of focused action.
Positive Quotes for Women
Because sometimes you don’t need a battle cry. You just need a reminder that you’re enough.
- “You alone are enough. You have nothing to prove to anybody.” — Maya Angelou
- “Always be a first-rate version of yourself instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” — Judy Garland
- “What makes you different or weird, that’s your strength.” — Meryl Streep
- “I can’t think of any better representation of beauty than someone who is unafraid to be herself.” — Emma Stone
- “A girl should be two things: who and what she wants.” — Coco Chanel
- “Don’t compromise yourself. You are all you’ve got.” — Janis Joplin
- “I do know one thing about me: I don’t measure myself by others’ expectations or let others define my worth.” — Sonia Sotomayor
- “Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius, and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.” — Marilyn Monroe
- “I am my own muse. I am the subject I know best. The subject I want to better.” — Frida Kahlo
- “The more you can be authentic, the happier you’re going to be, and life will work itself around that.” — Melinda Gates
- “When you learn, teach. When you get, give.” — Maya Angelou
- “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” — Maya Angelou
- “She believed she could, so she did.” — R.S. Grey
- “I am not the woman I want to be yet, but I am closer than I was yesterday.” — Glennon Doyle
- “Stop apologizing for taking up space.” — Anonymous
- “Your softness is not a weakness. It’s the proof you survived without becoming hard.” — Anonymous
- “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated.” — Maya Angelou
- “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” — Anne Frank
- “There is always light. If only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.” — Amanda Gorman
- “You are enough. A thousand times enough.” — Atticus
Inspirational Quotes for Girls
For the daughters, nieces, students, young athletes, and future leaders watching how we handle the hard days. These are the lines worth passing on.
- “One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.” — Malala Yousafzai
- “I raise up my voice — not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard.” — Malala Yousafzai
- “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
- “I hope the fathers and mothers of little girls will look at them and say ‘yes, women can.’” — Dilma Rousseff
- “Teach girls bravery, not perfection.” — Reshma Saujani
- “Most of us are taught to avoid failure and risk. But if you avoid failure, you also avoid success.” — Reshma Saujani
- “You have to be comfortable being uncomfortable.” — Simone Biles
- “There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.” — Michelle Obama
- “No country can ever truly flourish if it stifles the potential of its women.” — Michelle Obama
- “For while we have our eyes on the future, history has its eyes on us.” — Amanda Gorman
- “We need to reshape our own perception of how we view ourselves. We have to step up as women and take the lead.” — Beyoncé
- “Vulnerability is not winning or losing; it’s having the courage to show up and be seen.” — Brené Brown
- “A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it. It just blooms.” — Zen Shin
- “Don’t be the girl who fell. Be the girl who got back up.” — Anonymous
- “Be a girl with a mind, a woman with attitude, and a lady with class.” — Anonymous
If you’re raising a daughter, the Little Hero’s Journal was built to give girls the daily habits and language of someone who believes in themselves.
Strong Confident Woman Quotes
There’s a difference between confidence and arrogance. These women knew it.
- “You cannot win an Emmy for roles that simply don’t exist.” — Viola Davis
- “The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity.” — Viola Davis
- “Success isn’t about how much money you make. It’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.” — Michelle Obama
- “When they go low, we go high.” — Michelle Obama
- “One of the secrets to staying young is to always do things you don’t know how to do, to keep learning.” — Ruth Reichl
- “The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.” — Oprah Winfrey
- “Turn your wounds into wisdom.” — Oprah Winfrey
- “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
- “Whatever anybody says or does, assume positive intent.” — Indra Nooyi
- “The most important words that have helped me in life, when things have gone right or when things have gone wrong, are ‘accept responsibility.’” — Billie Jean King
- “I decided I can’t pay a person to rewind time, so I may as well get over it.” — Serena Williams
- “There is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.” — Madeleine Albright
- “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
- “Greatness is not measured by what a man or woman accomplishes, but by the opposition they have overcome to reach their goals.” — Dorothy Height
- “The first problem for all of us, men and women, is not to learn, but to unlearn.” — Gloria Steinem
Attitude Strong Woman Quotes
Unapologetic. Direct. The kind of lines you put in your bio or your journal or nowhere at all — and feel anyway.
- “I’d rather regret the things I’ve done than regret the things I haven’t done.” — Lucille Ball
- “The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.” — Coco Chanel
- “We should all be feminists.” — Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- “The problem with gender is that it prescribes how we should be rather than recognizing how we are.” — Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- “It takes a great deal of courage to stand up to your enemies, but even more to stand up to your friends.” — J.K. Rowling
- “And the trouble is, if you don’t risk anything, you risk more.” — Erica Jong
- “Always go with the choice that scares you the most, because that’s the one that is going to require the most from you.” — Caroline Myss
- “We have to talk about liberating minds as well as liberating society.” — Angela Davis
- “Fearlessness is like a muscle. The more I exercise it the more natural it becomes to not let my fears run me.” — Arianna Huffington
- “Born to stand out, not fit in.” — Anonymous
- “The future is female.” — Anonymous
- “Stay strong. Stay soft. Stay both.” — Anonymous
- “She is fierce.” — William Shakespeare
- “I need to be comfortable with being uncomfortable.” — Anonymous
- “When we support each other, incredible things happen.” — Anonymous
How to Actually Use These Quotes
A list of 100 lines is overwhelming if you treat it like homework. Treat it like a tool instead.
Pick three. Three that you read and felt something — a small click, a flush of recognition. Skip the rest for now.
Make one of them visible. A phone wallpaper, a Post-it on your laptop, a frame on your desk. The quote you see ten times a day works. The one you read once doesn’t.
Send one to a woman who needs it. Most of these were written for the women coming after the women who wrote them. Pass it along.
Use one as a journaling prompt. Write the quote at the top of a blank page and answer: “What would change in my life if I actually believed this?” Five minutes of honest answer beats an hour of reading more quotes.
If you want a structured place to do that work, the BestSelf Self Journal has a daily intention space designed exactly for taking one line and turning it into a week of action.
And if you’re working on relationships — with yourself or someone you love — the BestSelf Relationship Journal pairs well with the quotes in the “Quotes About Women Supporting Women” section. Shared reflection is its own kind of empowerment.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best women empowerment quotes?
The most-shared empowering quotes for women include: “Women belong in all places where decisions are being made” (Ruth Bader Ginsburg), “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any” (Alice Walker), and “She believed she could, so she did” (R.S. Grey). Each works because it names a specific kind of power — institutional, internal, and momentum — in under fifteen words.
What are strong women quotes for hard times?
For resilience: Serena Williams — “I really think a champion is defined not by their wins, but by how they can recover when they fall.” Maya Angelou — “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated.” Rosa Parks — “When one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear.”
What are good motivational quotes for women at work?
Madam C.J. Walker: “Don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come; get up and make them.” Sheryl Sandberg: “Done is better than perfect.” Amelia Earhart: “The most effective way to do it, is to do it.” These three cover the main work-mode obstacles: waiting, perfectionism, and procrastination.
What are inspiring quotes for girls?
Malala Yousafzai’s “One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world” is the most accessible for younger audiences. Reshma Saujani’s “Teach girls bravery, not perfection” is the one worth putting on the wall. Simone Biles’ “You have to be comfortable being uncomfortable” is the one to repeat before anything hard.
What are short women empowerment quotes for Instagram?
Short and screenshot-able: “She believed she could, so she did,” “Well-behaved women seldom make history,” “We can do hard things,” “The future is female,” and “She is fierce.” All under ten words. All quotable without context.
Why do women’s empowerment quotes matter?
Quotes do a strange and useful thing: they compress hard-won wisdom into a sentence you can carry. For women, who have historically had less of their wisdom written down and less of it widely circulated, sharing and re-sharing these lines is part of how the work continues. Each time someone sends the right quote at the right moment, that older wisdom gets further.
How can I use women empowerment quotes daily?
The most effective method: pair one quote with a journaling habit. Write the quote at the top of a blank page, then answer one question underneath it. Put one on a phone wallpaper or sticky note where you’ll see it repeatedly. Send one to a woman in your life every Monday. Reading them once and moving on does very little. Repetition with intention does a lot — the Self Journal is designed around exactly this practice.
Build your daily intention practice with the BestSelf Self Journal. Designed for the woman who wants to close the gap between who she is and who she’s becoming.
