Women throughout history have worked hard and are still working hard to make sure women are not silenced but are heard and able to use their talents and potentials in their industries and various work places.
Regardless of whether it is in athletics, innovation, tech, politics and activism.
Women are going the extra mile to challenge the norms and create avenue for equality while advocating for a better world and equal opportunities.
Powerful women accords several continents and nations like Deola Sagoe, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Michelle Obama, Malala Yousafzai and Serena Williams have been a source of inspiration to girls and women all over the world and constantly serve as proof that women all over the world can challenge norms and break ceilings.
They have demonstrated and shown that failure shouldn’t stop you from achieving your goals. They have shown you can have strength and work out purpose with confidence while still holding on to your vulnerability.
In celebration of International Women’s Day 2021, I have put together, a list of inspirational quotes from powerful women to serve as a reminder that through consistent action and belief in yourself, you can do all you set to do.
Think on these quotes:
- “Girls are capable of doing everything men are capable of doing. Sometimes they have more imagination than men.” – Katherine Johnson, mathematician and one of the first African-American women to work as a NASA scientist
- “I have learnt that if you face the challenges with positive energy, you are most likely to get better results.” – Adenike ‘Nike’ Ogunlesi
- “The success of every woman should be the inspiration to another. We should raise each other up. Make sure you’re very courageous: be strong, be extremely kind, and above all be humble.” – Serena Williams, professional tennis player who has won more singles titles than any man or woman.
- “True success is about a passion to create a better world, live a life that you can look back on and be truly proud of.” – Dr. Ola Orekunrin (Flying Doctors)
- “In my experience, women tend to create a collective around them and then it is ‘let’s go into battle together’. For me, it is this type of collaborative, collective thinking that is useful in this industry, an industry full of innovation.” – Emma Kaye.
- “I might fail in a business venture but I do not consider myself a failure until I have given up. Failure is giving up on my goals and dreams.” – Damilola Solesi
- “We need to understand that there is no formula for how women should lead their lives. That is why we must respect the choices that each woman makes for herself and her family. Every woman deserves the chance to realize her God-given potential.” – Hillary Clinton, former Secretary of State and first woman nominated for U.S. president by a major political party
- “Women should do for themselves what men have already done—occasionally what men have not done—thereby establishing themselves as persons, and perhaps encouraging other women toward greater independence of thought and action.” – Amelia Earhart, first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
- “Don’t be afraid of criticism, research shows that in cases of men and women with the same type ‘A’ personalities, a man will always be seen as a go-getter and ambitious and the woman will be seen as bitchy and loud; understand it and move on.” – Ethel Cofie.
- “I raise up my voice—not so I can shout but so that those without a voice can be heard… We cannot succeed when half of us are held back.” – Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate.
- “Nineteen people may love your work, but the twentieth one will hate it and will tell you so; you cannot allow that to affect you. That may sound trite, but there is huge risk in letting criticism get you down.” – Carrol Boyes
- “I really think a champion is defined not by their wins but by how they can recover when they fall.” – Serena Williams
- “Start at the bottom. You need 100% passion, 100% guts and a total belief in your vision and your determination to succeed. Be prepared to put in crazy work hours and all kinds of sacrifices, but most important.. NEVER GIVE UP!” – Bev Missing“
- “Failure is necessary for any learning curve. Failure makes you stronger, bolder, and less scared of taking risks.” – Nkemdilim Begho
- “Always aim high, work hard, and care deeply about what you believe in. And, when you stumble, keep faith. And, when you’re knocked down, get right back up and never listen to anyone who says you can’t or shouldn’t go on.” – Hillary Clinton
- “Think like a queen. A queen if not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness.” – Oprah Winfrey, media mogul and North America’s first black multi-billionaire.
- “If you’re always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.” – Maya Angelou, Pulitzer-prize nominated poet
- “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
- “There’s power in allowing yourself to be known and heard, in owning your unique story, in using your authentic voice.” – Michelle Obama.
- “Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
- “Minister to the world in a way that can change it. Minister radically in a real, active, practical, get your hands dirty way.” Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
- “You don’t make progress by standing on the sidelines whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.” – Shirley Chisholm
- “Do what you feel in your heart to be right–for you’ll be criticized anyway.” – Eleanor Roosevelt.
- “Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time.” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- “Technique and ability alone do not get you to the top; it is the willpower that is most important.” – Junko Tabei, first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest
- “Do not stop thinking of life as an adventure. You have no security unless you can live bravely, excitingly, imaginatively; unless you can choose a challenge instead of competence.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
- “The most difficult thing is the decision to act. The rest is merely tenacity.” – Amelia Earhart
- “Success is only meaningful and enjoyable if it feels like your own.” – Michelle Obama
- “I’ve been absolutely terrified every moment of my life—and I’ve never let it keep me from doing a single thing I wanted to do.” – Georgia O’Keeffe, painter often recognized as the “Mother of American modernism”
- “Every moment wasted looking back, keeps us from moving forward…In this world and the world of tomorrow, we must go forward together or not at all.” – Hillary Clinton
- “Let us make our future now, and let us make our dreams tomorrow’s reality.” – Malala Yousafzai
- “If I can change the life of one person it makes a whole difference because behind that person there is a whole family. It’s a family, it’s a society, it’s Tanzania.” – Victoria Kisyombe
- “I am guided each day by these three questions: ‘What are you fixing?’ ‘What are you making?’ and ‘Who are you helping?’
I hope these quotes inspires you to act and be all that is in you to be and above all, I hope it makes you choose to challenge the norms and break limitations and societal ceilings.
Happy International Women’s Day 2021.