The last thirty years have seen an enormous global cultural shift that has begun to counteract the millennia long imbalance in opportunity between the genders.
However, although we see many areas of our culture making a shift towards equality, the residual effect of such a discrepancy is hard to eliminate overnight.
Boys, for example, grow up with the vast majority of successful people they may look up to sharing their gender. Notable athletes, CEOs, politicians, philosophers, even superheroes, are predominantly male. The role models that young girls have to guide them are, on the other hand, far more limited in the public spotlight.
For this reason, it’s fruitful and optimistic that we have various movements that look to empower women. In fact, celebrations such as the Women of The World (WOW) Festival, seek to showcase the vast talent across womankind that may have largely gone unnoticed in the past.
Fortunately, we can help facilitate this process by creating a culture that inspires and encourages girls, so they grow up with confidence and self-esteem. Doing so will establish healthier families and relationships, strengthen global economies and everyone will benefit.
Here are 22 quotes for girls to empower them to be the best version of themselves.
Quotes about beauty
The beauty standards by which women have to hold themselves are unbelievably realistic. Such attitudes have been intensified in the age of social media and adds an enormous amount of pressure to girls who are among the first to grow up in such a strange world. As parents, friends, and teachers, we all have the responsibility to re-establish some sense of equilibrium to these lopsided attitudes, and help girls to grow up without the constant feeling of not being pretty enough.
“No matter how plain a woman may be, if truth and honesty are written across her face, she will be beautiful.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“And one day she discovered that she was fierce, and strong, and full of fire, and that not even she could hold herself back because her passion burned brighter than her fears.” – Mark Anthony
“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
“Beautiful people are not always good but good people are always beautiful.” – Imam Ali
“I think beauty come from knowing who you actually are. That’s real beauty to me.” – Ellen DeGeneres
“Imperfections are beauty, madness is genius, and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.” – Marilyn Monroe
“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
Quotes about being yourself
Independence and autonomy have always been a trait that is valued among men. But at a time where individuality is more important than ever, particularly in the working world, it’s important that girls are empowered to blaze their own path as well. In the next generation, we should hopefully start to see more women in leadership roles. By empowering young girls to be entrepreneurs, we will bring balance to the world of business.
“Be a first rate version of yourself, not a second rate version of someone else.” – Judy Garland
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“Be who you are and say how you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those that matter don’t mind.” – Dr. Seuss
“A girl should be two things: who and what she wants.” – Coco Chanel
“We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back. We call upon our sisters around the world to be brave – to embrace the strength within themselves and realize their full potential.” – Malala Yousafzai
“If you are always trying to be normal, you’ll never know how amazing you can be.” – Maya Angelou
“Words can be worrisome, people complex, motives and manners unclear, grant her the wisdom to choose her path right, free from unkindness and fear.” – Neil Gaiman
“Stop trying to be less of who you are. Let this time in your life cut you open and drain all of the things that are holding you back.” – Jennifer Elisabeth
Quotes about strength
Strength, like autonomy, is another trait that has been traditionally valued more amongst men. Human beings all have the potential for great strength, although sometimes in very different ways, and we should look to show women they can be as strong and competent as anyone else in the world.
“Courage, sacrifice, determination, commitment, toughness, heart, talent, guts. That’s what little girls are made of; the heck with sugar and spice.” – Bethany Hamilton
“Be that strong girl that everyone knew would make it through the worst, be that fearless girl, the one who would dare to do anything, be that independent girl who didn’t need a man; be that girl who never backed down.” – Taylor Swift
“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, Persuasion
“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
“She is clothed in strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.” – Proverbs 31:25
“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
