Looking for some inspirational Happy Women’s Day Quotes to share with your friends, co-workers, family, or other loved ones. I’ve got you! I’ve just spent the last several days rounding up my favorites. Keep reading for the 150 Best International Women’s Day Quotes 2024 to Inspire & Empower.
What Is International Women’s Day?
According to internationalwomensday.com:
International Women’s Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women’s equality.
IWD has occurred for well over a century, with the first IWD gathering in 1911 supported by over a million people. Today, IWD belongs to all groups collectively everywhere. IWD is not country, group or organization specific.
International Women’s Day is an important day for women all around the world!
“Today, we are celebrating the strength, determination, and resilience of women everywhere.” – Michelle Obama
Let’s jump into some inspirational quotes to help you celebrate a very Happy Women’s Day 2024!
150 Best International Women’s Day Quotes 2024 to Inspire & Empower
Share your favorite quotes with the incredible women in your life.
Short Women’s Day Quotes
1. “I can and I will. Watch me.” – Carrie Green
2. “Life is tough, my darling, but so are you.” –Stephanie Bennett-Henry
3. “Find out who you are. And do it on purpose.” – Dolly Parton
4. “Women are the real architects of society.” – Harriet Beecher Stowe
5. “Where there is a woman, there is magic.” – Ntozake Shange
Note: there are more short quotes below, but I wanted to keep some in their theme groups. If you’re looking for more short Women’s Day quotes, keep scrolling! 😉
Inspirational Quotes from Women’s Rights Leaders
1. “An idea built the wall of separation between the sexes, and an idea will crumble it to dust.” – Sarah Moore Grimké
2. “The story of women’s struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights.” – Gloria Steinem
3. “The women of today are the thoughts of their mothers and grandmothers, embodied and made alive. They are active, capable, determined and bound to win. They have one-thousand generations back of them… Millions of women dead and gone are speaking through us today” – Matilda Joslyn Gage
4. “We were scared, but our fear was not as strong as our courage.” – Malala Yousafzai
5. “When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.” – Harriet Beecher Stowe
6. “There comes a time when time itself is ready for a change.” – Coretta Scott King
7. “You can never leave footprints that last if you are always walking on tiptoe.” – Leymah Gbowee
8. “One’s life has value so long as one attributes value to the life of others, by means of love, friendship, indignation, compassion.” – Simone de Beauvoir
9. “Forget conventionalisms; forget what the world thinks of you stepping out of your place; think your best thoughts, speak your best words, work your best works, looking to your own conscience for approval.” – Susan B. Anthony
10. “For most of history, Anonymous was a woman.” – Virginia Woolf
(adapted from a line by this famous writer)
Authenticity-Themed
1. “A woman in harmony with her spirit is like a river flowing. She goes where she will without pretense and arrives at her destination prepared to be herself and herself only.” – Maya Angelou
2. “A girl should be two things: Who and what she wants.” – Coco Chanel
3. “I’m tough, I’m ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a bitch, okay.” –Madonna
4. “I will not be another flower, picked for my beauty and left to die. I will be wild, difficult to find, and impossible to forget.” – Erin Van Vuren
5. “I am proud of the woman I am today because I went through one hell of a time to become her.” – Unknown
6. “Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It’s about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let our true selves be seen.” ― Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection
7. “A charming woman doesn’t follow the crowd; she is herself.” – Loretta Young
8. “You only have one life to live. Make sure its yours.” – Eleanor Brown
9. “I think that if I am smart in business, it’s just that I’m smart about who I am. I know what I can, can’t, will and won’t do, and if I have to be strict about that, I will.” – Dolly Parton
10. “I can’t think of any better representation of beauty than someone who is unafraid to be herself.” – Emma Stone
11. “Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” – Judy Garland
12. “The universe buries strange jewels deep within us all, and then stands back to see if we can find them.” – Elizabeth Gilbert
13. “She remembered who she was and the game changed.” – Lalah Deliah
14. “People are going to judge you anyway, so you might as well do what you want.” – Taylor Swift
Empowering Women’s Day Quotes
1. “I want every girl to know that her voice can change the world.” – Malala Yousafzai
2. “It’s okay if you fall down and lose your spark. Just make sure that when you get back up, you rise as the whole damn fire.” – Colette Werden
3. “The question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who’s going to stop me.” – Ayn Rand
4. “She wasn’t looking for a knight. She was looking for a sword.” – Atticus
5. “I say “Out” to every negative thought that comes to my mind. No person, place, or thing has any power over me, for I am the only thinker in my mind. I create my own reality and everyone in it.” – Louise Hay
6. “What’s the greatest lesson a woman should learn? That since day one, she’s already had everything she needs within herself. It’s the world that convinced her she did not.” – Rupi Kaur
7. “I know what I bring to the table…So trust me when I say I’m not afraid to eat alone.” – Unknown
8. “Power’s not given to you. You have to take it.” – Beyoncé
9. “Above all, be the heroine of your life. Not the victim.” – Nora Ephron
10. “I hear a lot of people saying, when talking about girls’ empowerment and women as well, you’ll often hear people saying, ‘You’re helping them find their voices’, I fundamentally disagree with that. Women don’t need to find their voice. They need to feel empowered to use it and people need to be encouraged to listen.” – Meghan Markle
11. “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
12. “You could make a case that, along with the technological revolution, the most provocative upending destabilizing thrilling change in the course of human history is that we’re finally in it. … We’re here now, women are in the world, and we will not be bullied.” – Meryl Streep
13. “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
14. “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
15. “I am a woman with thoughts and questions and shit to say. I say if I’m beautiful. I say if I’m strong. You will not determine my story – I will.” – Amy Schumer
16. “You are a woman; that is your superpower.” – Unknown
Related: Click here for self love affirmations
Powerful Women’s Day Quotes on Strength
1. “Here’s to strong women: May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them.” – Unknown
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. “A strong woman looks a challenge in the eye and gives it a wink.” – Gina Carey
4. “Nothing can dim the light which shines from within.” – Maya Angelou
5. “There is nothing stronger than a broken woman who has rebuilt herself.” – Hannah Gadsby
6. “You can always tell who the strong women are. They are the ones you see building one another up instead of tearing each other down.” – Unknown
7. “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
8. “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
9. “Never be ashamed of a scar. It simply means you were stronger than whatever tried to hurt you.” – Unknown
10. “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” – Alice Walker
11. “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
12. “She has been through hell, so believe me when I say, fear her when she looks into fire and smiles.” – E. Corona
13. “Feminism isn’t about making women strong. Women are already strong. It’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength.” – G.D. Anderson
14. “You don’t have to play masculine to be a strong woman.” – Mary Elizabeth Winstead
15. “My mother told me that fear was not an option. I was always told that women are stronger, so I believed it.” – Diane Von Furstenberg
Quotes on Breaking Rules and Going Beyond Limitations
1. “I don’t go by the rule book. I lead from the heart, not the head.” – Princess Diana
2. “If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.” –Katherine Hepburn
3. “You’ll learn, as you get older, that rules are made to be broken. Be bold enough to live life on your terms, and never, ever apologize for it. Go against the grain, refuse to conform, take the road less traveled instead of the well-beaten path. Laugh in the face of adversity, and leap before you look. Dance as though EVERYBODY is watching. March to the beat of your own drummer. And stubbornly refuse to fit in.” ― Mandy Hale, The Single Woman: Life, Love, and a Dash of Sass
4. “Well-behaved women seldom make history.” ― Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
5. “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
6. “We need to reshape our own perception of how we view ourselves. We have to step up as women and take the lead.” – Beyoncé
7. “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
8. “When the world tells you to shrink, expand.” – Elaine Welteroth
Leadership Quotes for International Women’s Day
1. “Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg
2. “If you have knowledge, let others light their candles in it.” – Margaret Fuller
3. “No country can ever truly flourish if it stifles the potential of its women and deprives itself of the contributions of half of its citizens.” – Michelle Obama
4. “To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
5. “Women have begun to see that if I go through that doorway, I take everybody through it.” – Dianne Feinstein
6. “We’re here for a reason. I believe a bit of the reason is to throw little torches out to lead people through the dark.” –Whoopi Goldberg
7. “Empowering those around you to be heard and valued makes the difference between a leader who simply instructs and one who inspires.” – Adena Friedman
8. “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
9. “Whether I am meant to or not, I challenge assumptions about women. I do make some people uncomfortable, which I’m well aware of, but that’s just part of coming to grips with what I believe is still one of the most important pieces of unfinished business in human history—empowering women to be able to stand up for themselves.” – Hillary Clinton
10. “Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.” –Maya Angelou
11. “I know of no single formula for success. But over the years I have observed that some attributes of leadership are universal and are often about finding ways of encouraging people to combine their efforts, their talents, their insights, their enthusiasm and their inspiration to work together.” – Queen Elizabeth II
12. “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
Happy Women’s Day Quotes for Students and/or Girls
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. “Little girls with dreams become women with vision.” – Unknown
3. “Girls should never be afraid to be smart.” – Emma Watson
4. “You are never too small to make a difference.” – Greta Thunberg
5. “My hope for the future, not just in the music industry, but in every young girl I meet, is that they all realize their worth and ask for it.” – Taylor Swift
6. “It’s important to teach our female youth that it’s OK to say, ‘Yes, I am good at this,’ and you don’t hold back.” – Simone Biles
Funny Women’s Day Quotes
1. “There’s nothing a man can do that I can’t do better and in heels.” – Ginger Rogers
2. “If you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman.” –Margaret Thatcher
3. “A man’s got to do what a man’s got to do. A woman must do what he can’t.” – Rhonda Hansome
4. “Behind every great woman… is another great woman.” – Kate Hodges
Women Supporting Women for International Women’s Day
1. “Real queens fix each other’s crowns.” – Unknown
2. “The world needs strong 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
3. “We need to be more supportive with everything. With body images, especially with women, showing that all sizes are beautiful. And I’m talking about in magazines, advertisements in regard to what’s sexy and what’s not sexy. We all need to be a little more supportive of each other.” – Tia Mowry
4. “Using my voice to recognize and celebrate other women is a joy for me.” – Tracee Ellis Ross
5. “Empowered women empower women.” – Unknown
6. “Amazing things happen when women help other women.” – Kasia Gospoś
7. “Women that believe in each other can survive anything. Women who believe in each other create armies that will win kingdoms and wars.” – Nikita Gill
8. “I always believed that one woman’s success can only help another woman’s success.” – Gloria Vanderbilt
9. “The most important thing one woman can do for another is expand her sense of actual possibilities.” – Adrienne Rich
10. “Support women on their way to the top. Trust that they will extend a hand to those who follow.” – Mariela Dabbah
11. “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
12. “Every woman’s success should be an inspiration to another. We’re strongest when we cheer each other on.” – Serena Williams
Quotes on Believing in Yourself for Women’s Day
1. “She believed she could, so she did.” – Unknown
2. “After all those years as a woman hearing, ‘not thin enough, not pretty enough, not smart enough, not thin enough, not that enough,’ almost overnight I woke up one morning and thought, ‘I am enough.’” – Anna Quindlen
3. “Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness.” – Oprah Winfrey
4. “I just want women to always feel in control. Because we’re capable, we’re so capable.” – Nicki Minaj
5. “I think the best role models for women are people who are fruitfully and confidently themselves, who bring light into the world.” – Meryl Streep
6. “Women have to harness their power—its 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
7. “Speak up for yourself and what you believe in. You can still be an elegant woman and be strong and powerful.” – Misty Copeland
8. “If you have an idea, you have to believe in yourself or no one else will.” – Sarah Michelle Gellar
Related: Click here for confidence affirmations
Quotes on Making a Difference for International Women’s Day
1. “Whatever you choose to do, leave tracks. That means don’t do it just for yourself. You will want to leave the world a little better for your having lived.” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg
2. “I tell my daughters to have their voice in this world, and it became clear I needed to role-model that.” – Melinda Gates
3. “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” – Mother Teresa
4. “Determination, energy, and courage appear spontaneously when we care deeply about something. We take risks that are unimaginable in any other context.” – Margaret J. Wheatley
5. “There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.” – Michelle Obama
6. “Each person must live their life as a model for others.” – Rosa Parks
7. “Success isn’t about how much money you make. It’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.” – Michelle Obama
8. “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” – Anne Frank
9. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead
10. “Be kind and merciful. Let no one ever come to you without coming away better and happier.” – Mother Teresa
11. “I encourage women to step up. Don’t wait for somebody to ask you.” – Reese Witherspoon
12. “Fight and push harder for what you believe in, you’d be surprised, you are much stronger than you think.” – Lady Gaga
Quotes to Keep Going for International Women’s Day
1. “Nothing is impossible; the word itself says ‘I’m possible’” – Audrey Hepburn
2. “Until you’re ready to look foolish, you’ll never have the possibility of being great.” – Cher
3. “There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.” – Jane Austen
4. “There is no force more powerful than a woman determined to rise.” – W.E.B. Dubois
5. “If you don’t see a clear path for what you want, sometimes you have to make it yourself.” – Mindy Kaling
6. “Nevertheless, she persisted”
7. “Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others.” – Amelia Earhart
8. “She overcame everything that was meant to destroy her.” – Unknown
9. “I decided I can’t pay a person to rewind time, so I may as well get over it.” – Serena Williams
10. “I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.” ― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women
11. “Remember, you have been criticizing yourself for years and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.” – Louise Hay
12. “A girl who’s going to do big things cannot let small things get to her.” – Unknown
13. “When I wake up, I expect things to be good. If they’re not, then I try to set about trying to make them as good as I can ’cause I know I’m gonna have to live that day anyway. So why not try to make the most of it if you can?” – Dolly Parton
14. “Fearlessness is like a muscle. I know from my own life that the more I exercise it the more natural it becomes to not let my fears run me.” – Arianna Huffington
Related: Click here for quotes on New Beginnings and Fresh Starts
Quotes on Being a Woman for International Women’s Day
1. “Women should be celebrated every day…It doesn’t just honor the iconic women who have changed history, but encourages new generations to dream big and know that anything is possible.” – Molly McCook
2. “Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world.” – Hillary Clinton
3. “Be the woman you would look up to.” – Unknown
4. “I do not wish women to have power over men, but over themselves.” – Mary Shelley
5. “My mother told me to be a lady. And for her, that meant be your own person, be independent.” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg
6. “Do not live someone else’s life and someone else’s idea of what womanhood is. Womanhood is you.” – Viola Davis
7. “I feel like I’m one of the biggest feminists in the world because I tell women to not be scared of anything.” – Miley Cyrus
8. “Her soul is fierce. Her heart is brave. Her mind is strong.” – r.h. sin
9. “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
10. “When a woman rises up in glory, her energy is magnetic and her sense of possibility contagious.” – Marianne Williamson
11. “I am a woman and a warrior. If you think I can’t be both, you’ve been lied to.” – Jennifer Zeynab Joukhadar
12. “You deserve to be here. You deserve to exist. You deserve to take up space in this world of men.” – MacKenzi Lee
13. “A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture and transform.” – Diane Mariechild
14. “I am woman phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, that’s me.” – Maya Angelou
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Summary
International Women’s Day is an important day to celebrate the many varied achievements of women all around the world while also inspiring action to advance gender equality and women’s rights overall.
May these International Women’s Day Quotes help you celebrate a Happy Women’s Day!
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Thank you for stopping by and checking out my blog post on 150 Best International Women’s Day Quotes 2024 to Inspire & Empower.
Share your favorite quotes or this entire post with the amazing women in your life.
Happy International Women’s Day! Hope you have a very Happy Women’s Day!
Comment below: Which quote is your favorite? Do you have any favorite Happy Women’s Day quotes not on this list?