Strong Women Quotes from Inspiring Women

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We all look up to strong, independent women. These strong women quotes will help you appreciate female strength and maybe even become a stronger woman yourself.

It’s easy to give in to feelings of self-doubt and back down from challenges. But that’s certainly not what being a strong woman is all about.

History is shaped by empowering and inspiring women and these strong women quotes celebrate their qualities and characters.

Top 10 Strong Women Quotes

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

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

Melinda Gates
Marilyn Monroe quote "Strong women don’t have attitudes we have standards"
“Strong women don’t have ‘attitudes,’ we have standards.” – Marilyn Monroe

Strong women — precious jewels all — their humanness is evident in their accessibility. We are able to enter into the spirit of these women and rejoice in their warmth and courage.

Maya Angelou

I long to speak out the intense inspiration that comes to me from the lives of strong women.

Ruth Benedict

I believe in strong women. I believe in the woman who is able to stand up for herself. I believe in the woman who doesn’t need to hide behind her husband’s back. I believe that if you have problems, as a woman you deal with them, you don’t play victim, you don’t make yourself look pitiful, you don’t point fingers. You stand and you deal. You face the world with a head held high and you carry the universe in your heart.

C. Joybell C.

I’ve always loved strong women, which is lucky for me because once you’re over about twenty-five there is no other kind. Women blow my mind. The stuff that routinely gets done to them would make most men curl up and die, but women turn to steel and keep on coming.

Tana French
Alexandre Dumas quote "Women are never so strong as after their defeat"
“Women are never so strong as after their defeat.” – Alexandre Dumas

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

Ayn Rand

Women are never stronger than when they arm themselves with their weaknesses.

Madame Marie du Deffand

Quotes from Strong Women

We ask justice, we ask equality, we ask that all the civil and political rights that belong to citizens of the United States, be guaranteed to us and our daughters forever.

Susan B. Anthony

Being a strong woman is very important to me. But doing it all on my own is not.

Reba McEntire

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

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

Carly Simon

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

Diane Mariechild

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

Eleanor Roosevelt

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

Charlotte Whitton

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

Maya Angelou

The woman who doesn’t require validation from anyone is the most feared individual on the planet.

Mohadesa Najumi
Cher quote "Women are the real architects of society"
“Women are the real architects of society.” – Cher

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

Coco Chanel

The emerging woman… will be strong-minded, strong-hearted, strong-souled, and strong-bodied… strength and beauty must go together.

Louisa May Alcott

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

Al Anon

When we do the best we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another.

Helen Keller

Because I am a woman, I must make unusual efforts to succeed. If I fail, no one will say, ‘She doesn’t have what it takes.’ They will say, ‘Women don’t have what it takes.’

Clare Boothe Luce

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 N. Ramdas

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

Alice Walker

Women have to work much harder to make it in this world.

Beyoncé

I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.

Angela Davis

People think at the end of the day that a man is the only answer [to fulfillment]. Actually a job is better for me.

Princess Diana

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

Margaret Thatcher

Taking joy in living is a woman’s best cosmetic.

Rosalind Russell
"Life is tough, my darling, but so are you"
“Life is tough, my darling, but so are you.” – Stephanie Bennett-Henry

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

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

Stop wearing your wishbone where your backbone ought to be.

Elizabeth Gilbert

Success breeds confidence.

Beryl Markham

There are two powers in the world; one is the sword and the other is the pen. There is a third power stronger than both, that of women.

Malala Yousafzai

A man’s got to do what a man’s got to do. A woman must do what he can’t.

Rhonda Hansome

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

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

As women, we have to start appreciating our own worth and each other’s worth. Seek out strong women to befriend, to align yourself with, to learn from, to collaborate with, to be inspired by, to support, and enlightened by.

Madonna

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

I know God will not give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish that He didn’t trust me so much.

Mother Teresa

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

Audre Lorde
"The best protection any woman can have is courage"
“The best protection any woman can have is courage.” – Elizabeth Cady Stanton

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 way in which we think of ourselves has everything to do with how our world see us and how we see ourselves successfully acknowledged by the world.

Arlene Rankin

Always be a first-rate version of yourself instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.

Judy Garland

If you live for people’s acceptance, you’ll die from their rejections.

Lecrae

Wherever you find a great man, you will find a great mother or a great wife standing behind him — or so they used to say. It would be interesting to know how many great women have had great fathers and husbands behind them.

Dorothy L. Sayers

We’re told that men are strong & brave, but I think women know how to endure, accept defeat & bear physical & mental agony much better than men.

Lisa See

I’d rather be thought of as smart, capable, strong, and compassionate than beautiful. Those things all persist long after beauty fades.

Cassandra Duffy

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

We must reject not only the stereotypes that others hold of us, but also the stereotypes that we hold of ourselves.

Shirley Chisolm

Inspiring Women Quotes

If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.

Katharine Hepburn

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

Madonna

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

Nora Ephron
Michelle Obama quote "There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish"
“There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.” – Michelle Obama

Destiny is a name often given in retrospect to choices that had dramatic consequences.

J. K. Rowling

We’re here for a reason. I believe that reason is to throw little torches out to lead people through the dark.

Whoopi Goldberg

We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained.

Marie Curie

I could not, at any age, be content to take my place by the fireside and simply look on. Life was meant to be lived. Curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life.

Eleanor Roosevelt

The day will come when men will recognize woman as his peer, not only at the fireside, but in councils of the nation. Then, and not until then, will there be the perfect comradeship, the ideal union between the sexes that shall result in the highest development of the race.

Susan B. Anthony

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

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

Amelia Earhart

Just watch, all of you men. I’ll show you what a woman can do…I’ll go across the country, I’ll race to the Moon… I’ll never look back.

Edna Gardner Whyte

You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.

Maya Angelou

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

Ruth Gordon

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

Catherine Cook

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
Tina Fey strong women quote "Do your thing and don’t care if they like it"
“Do your thing and don’t care if they like it.” – Tina Fey

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

Anais Nin

Girls should never be afraid to be smart.

Emma Watson

Her damaged petals are what made her more beautiful than all of the other flowers.

A. J. Lawless

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

Mark Anthony

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

Serena Williams

Giving up doesn’t always mean you’re weak. Sometimes you’re just strong enough to let go.

Taylor Swift

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

Emma Watson

Do not live someone else’s life and someone else’s idea of what womanhood is. Womanhood is you.

Viola Davis

If you can dance and be free and be embarrassed, you can rule the world.

Amy Poehler

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

I’d rather regret the risks that didn’t work out than the chances I didn’t take at all.

Simone Biles

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

Mae West

I can’t think of any better representation of beauty than someone who is unafraid to be herself.

Emma Stone

I’m not going to limit myself just because people won’t accept the fact that I can do something else.

Dolly Parton

I encourage women to step up. Don’t wait for somebody to ask you.

Reese Witherspoon

We hope these strong women quotes give you more appreciation for all the inspiring ladies in your life.

Whether it’s International Women’s Day or Women’s History Month each March, it’s important to celebrate the strength women provide and honor the women ones in our lives (even ourselves!).

So whether you need a reminder what an awesome lady you are, or want to give a boost to one of your girls, feel free to enjoy a quote or two and stay strong when you need to.

Photo of author

Natalie Seale

Natalie Seale is a writer and researcher with an MA, MSc, and PhD in History from the University of Edinburgh. Natalie is an avid reader, a keen traveller, and enjoys cooking and walking with her English Spaniel. Her posts focus on inspiring ideas and tips that help people learn, gro, and inspire others.

8 thoughts on “Strong Women Quotes from Inspiring Women”

  1. Lovely quote about women. Women are special creatures of God. With all the divine qualities I think they deserve more recognitions. Thanks for putting these together.

    Reply
  2. Thank a lot. Any woman who understands the problems of running a home will be nearer to understanding the problems of running a country.

    Reply
  3. Your quotes left me feeling stronger and better about myself and other Women when I lost my husband January 2016. Thank you!

    Reply
  4. Super amazing quotes. Women should identify with whom they are to tap into the power that lies within her. A women is creative and inspiring.just two values can make a great difference.

    Reply
  5. One of my favorite comes from Jackie Kennedy “Women will know they have succeeded when men start bragging about being accepted to Radcliff.”

    Reply
  6. Lovely quote about women. Women are special creatures of God. With all the divine qualities I think they deserve more recognitions. Thanks for putting these together.

    Reply

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