However you choose to celebrate IWD, whether you’re at a Women’s Day march, blaring some empowering tunes by women on Spotify, or staying in and sharing your stories with other powerful women, these International Women’s Day quotes are sure to inspire you.
Female empowerment isn’t just for International Women’s Day ‒ it’s for life.
The perfect International Women’s Day quotes (see the official website here) celebrate the hurdles we have vaulted over while recognizing that there are still challenges to overcome.
Our job is to let both these realities exist at once—to know that while celebration is definitely in order, there is still so much work to be done.
If you’re looking for a boost of inspiration, motivation, or you just want to celebrate womanhood in all its forms, we’ve got the ultimate list of powerful International Women’s Day quotes, just for you.
In this article: 📝
- What do you say on International Women’s Day?
- What is a strong woman quote?
- Funny International Women’s Day quotes
- Motivational quotes for International Women’s Day
- What is the motto of Women’s Day?
- What is the best message for Women’s Day?
What do you say on International Women’s Day?
Let’s start with what to actually say on International Women’s Day.
We’re keen to make “Happy International Women’s Day” every bit as common as “Merry Christmas” or “Happy New Year”, so this IWD, why not share the love and greet everyone with “Happy Women’s Day!”.
Can you say happy International Women’s day?
Yes, you certainly can!
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International Women’s Day is a day to focus on our challenges as women, but also to celebrate our successes.
Happy International Women’s Day!
Social media post ideas for International Women’s Day
If you’re more into online interactions than in-person, show your solidarity with an International Women’s Day social media post. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Happy International Women’s Day!
- Who run the world? 👸
- Sisters, let’s join in solidarity 👭
- Stronger together! 💪
- Together, we can #BreaktheBias 🙅♀️
- Celebrate your power today #IWD
- Share your stories of why we need to #BreaktheBias
What is a strong woman quote?
We are strong, but if you’re feeling like you need an extra boost to remind you of your strength, or you’re after a badass International Women’s Day quote, we’ve got you covered:
- “She wasn’t looking for a knight. She was looking for a sword.” – Atticus
- “Life is tough, my darling, but so are you.” – Stephanie Bennett-Henry
- “I’ve never been interested in being invisible and erased.” ‒ Laverne Cox
- “A strong woman looks a challenge in the eye and gives it a wink.” – Gina Carey
- “Feminism isn’t about making women stronger. Women are already strong. It’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength.” — G.D. Anderson
- “She overcame everything that was meant to destroy her.” – Rumi
- “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
- “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
- “There is nothing stronger than a broken woman who has rebuilt herself.” ‒ Hannah Gadsby
- “She has been through hell, so believe me when I say, fear her when she looks into fire and smiles.” – E. Corona
- “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
- “There is no force more powerful than a woman determined to rise.” – W.E.B. Dubois
- “She wore her scars as her best attire. A stunning dress made of hellfire.” – Daniel Saint
- “She never seemed shattered to me; she was a breathtaking mosaic of battles she’s won.” – Matt Baker
- “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
- “Strong women don’t have ‘attitudes,’ we have standards.” — Marilyn Monroe,
- “A woman with a voice is by definition a strong woman. But the search to find that voice can be remarkably difficult.” – Melinda Gates
- “Sometimes it’s the princess who kills the dragon and saves the prince.” – Samuel Lowe
- “I am proud of the woman I am today because I went through one hell of a time to become her.” – Unknown
- “She is strong, but not in the ways most people think. She loves more than she’ll ever get back and she knows it, yet she loves anyway.” – J.M. Storm
- “You were given this life because you are strong enough to live it.” – Unknown
- “Yes, she knows pain, but she is strong. Her heart knows no other way.” – A.R. Asher
- “Like anything learned, bravery needs to be practiced.” ‒ Caroline Paul
- “Her soul is fierce, her heart is brave, her mind is strong.” – Unknown
- “She was a true fighter; you could see it in her eyes. She wasn’t born strong, she was made strong. She was sculpted to be her own when the world let her down and she kept picking herself back up.” – Unknown
- “When I dare to be powerful — to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.” – Audre Lorde
- “A strong woman builds her own world. She is one who is wise enough to know that it will attract the man she will gladly share it with.”– Ellen J. Barrier
- “She was a wild one. Always stomping on eggshells that everyone else tip-toed on.” – Kaitlin Foster
- “The question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who’s going to stop me.” – Ayn Rand
- “A strong woman stands up for herself. A stronger woman stands up for everyone else.” – Unknown
- “I say if I’m beautiful. I say if I’m strong. You will not determine my story—I will.” — Amy Schumer
- “We all have a ‘Wonder Woman’ inside of us.” – Unknown
- “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
- “A strong woman is a woman determined to do something others are determined not be done.” — Marge Piercy
- “A strong woman can also be vulnerable. Just because there’s a crack in your armor, don’t doubt your strength for one moment.” – Unknown
- “She looked back on her life and realized that everything that happened only made her stronger.” – Unknown
- “There’s something about a woman with a loud mind that sits in silence, smiling, knowing she can crush you with the truth.” – R.G. Moon
- “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
- “I don’t know a woman alive who isn’t courageous.” ‒ Reese Witherspoon
- “Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.” – Nora Ephron
- “You cannot be broken because you are a diamond, tougher than nails and a jewel in the rough.” – Unknown
- “She’s a strong cup of black coffee in a world that is drunk on the cheap wine of shallow love.” – Unknown
- “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
- “The strongest actions for a woman is to love herself, be herself, and shine amongst those who never believed she could.” – Unknown
- “You don’t have to play masculine to be a strong woman.” – Mary Elizabeth Winstead
- “The best protection any woman can have is courage.” – Elizabeth Cady Stanton
- “No woman should be told she can’t make decisions about her own body. When women’s rights are under attack, we fight back.” – Kamala Harris
- “Some days, she has no idea how she’ll do it. But every single day, it still gets done.” – Unknown
- “Power’s not given to you. You have to take it.” — Beyoncé
- “Throw me to the wolves and I will return leading the pack.” ‒ Unknown
- “Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.” or “Don’t let the bastards get you down.” ‒ Margaret Atwood
- “Some women fear the fire. Some women simply become it.” – R.H. Sin
- “Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the face.” – Unknown
- “Yes, you have been broken. But girl, you know how to work it.” ‒ Sophie Thakur
- “Never be ashamed of a scar. It simply means you were stronger than whatever tried to hurt you.” – Unknown
Funny International Women’s Day quotes
The fight for women’s rights may be serious, but we can have a little fun while we’re at it!
Here are our favorite funny International Women’s Day quotes:
- “A girl should be two things: Who and what she wants.” – Coco Chanel
- “There’s nothing a man can do that I can’t do better and in heels.” – Ginger Rogers
- “Cinderella never asked for a prince. She asked for a night off and a dress.” – Kiera Cass
- “Females are strong as hell.” – The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
- “Well-behaved women rarely make history.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
- “Know what your worth is and then add tax to that amount.” – Unknown
- “Sometimes it takes balls to be a woman.” – Unknown
- “Here is the quick way of working out if you’re a feminist. Put your hand in your pants. a) Do you have a vagina? And b) Do you want to be in charge of it? If you said ‘yes to both, then congratulations! You’re a feminist.” ‒ Caitlin Moran
- “If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.” – Katherine Hepburn
- “I am a woman, what’s your superpower?” – Unknown
- “Never ever mistake her silence for weakness. Remember that sometimes the air stills before the onset of a hurricane.” – Unknown
- “A man’s got to do what a man’s got to do. A woman must do what he can’t.” – Rhonda Hansome
Motivational quotes for International Women’s Day
Keeping the fight going is one of the hardest things of International Women’s Day, but keep your fire burning with these motivational quotes for International Women’s Day:
- “She promised better things for herself, so she sought out those things and never looked back.” – Unknown
- “Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. It shouldn’t be that women are the exception.” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- “There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.” – Michelle Obama
- “Let go of who you think you’re supposed to be; embrace who you are.” – Brené Brown
- “To tell a woman everything she cannot do is to tell her what she can.” – Spanish Proverb
- “Your life isn’t yours if you constantly care what others think.” – Unknown
- “All of us are put in boxes by our family, by our religion, by our society, our moment in history, even our own bodies. Some people have the courage to break free.” – Geena Rocero
- “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
- “Stop waiting to find the light at the end of the tunnel and be the light for yourself.” – Unknown
- “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
- “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
- “Women hold up the world.” ‒ Akilah Hughes
- “One of the best things that ever happened to me is that I’m a woman. That is the way all females should feel.” — Marilyn Monroe
- “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
- “Leadership is hard to define and good leadership even harder. But if you can get people to follow you to the ends of the earth, you are a great leader.” ‒ Indra Nooyi
- “She remembered who she was and the game changed.” – Lalah Deliah
- “Collaborate, don’t compete.” ‒ Olivia Perez
- “Call me whatever you want. It’s not going to stop me from trying to do the right thing. Because it doesn’t just affect me, it affects all the other women who are in this with me, and it affects all the other men who are in this with me, too.” — Emma Watson
- “When the world tells you to shrink, expand.” – Elaine Welteroth
- “There is always light. Only if we are brave enough to see it. There is always light. Only if we are brave enough to be it.” – Amanda Gorman
- “You should never let your fears prevent you from doing what you know is right.” – Aung San Suu Kyi
- “I can encourage the women who are striving to get their footing in the world to keep pushing and to express themselves.” ‒ Angela Yee
- “Don’t mistake politeness for lack of strength.” – Sonia Sotomayor
- “I believe in giving girls a chance to activate their potential without fear.” ‒ Chimwemwe Chiweza
- “Once you figure out what respect tastes like, it tastes better than attention.” — P!nk
- “Don’t think about making women fit the world — think about making the world fit women.” — Gloria Steinem
- “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
- “She has a voice. If you can’t hear it, it’s because you’re too busy talking.” ‒ Amani Al-Khatahtbeh
- “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
- “Women are the real architects of society.” – Cher
- “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
- “I am a woman and I get to define what that means.” ‒ Swati Sharma
- “You have just one life to live. It is yours. Own it, claim it, live it, do the best you can with it.” ‒ Hillary Clinton
- “Women have discovered that they cannot rely on men’s chivalry to give them justice.” — Helen Keller
- “Behind every successful woman, is herself.” – Unknown
- “We are here not because we are law-breakers; we are here in our efforts to become law-makers.” — Emmeline Pankhurst
- “I want every girl to know that her voice can change the world.” – Malala Yousafzai
- “A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture and transform.” — Diane Mariechild
- “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
- “Technique and ability alone do not get you to the top; it is the willpower that is most important.” — Junko Tabei
- “If you have knowledge, let others light their candles in it.” – Margaret Fuller
- “Be free, be fierce, but most of all, have fun while being a feminist.” ‒ Nimco Ali
- “As soon as I had enough agency in my life to grow up, I became who I am.” ‒ Janet Mock
- “When women support each other, incredible things happen.” – Unknown
- “Take the wisdoms of the women in this world and keep them at your side, always.” ‒ Beanie Feldstein
- “Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others.” – Amelia Earhart
- “You don’t have to be pretty. You don’t owe prettiness to anyone. Prettiness is not a rent you pay for occupying a space marked ‘female.’” — Erin McKean
- “We cannot solve a crisis without treating it as a crisis. … And if solutions within the system are so impossible to find, then maybe we should change the system itself.” — Greta Thunberg
- “Girls are capable of doing everything men are capable of doing. Sometimes they have more imagination than men.” — Katherine Johnson
- “We are the breathing, living manifestations of the hopes of women who are not breathing any more. We must hope for ourselves, our daughters, and the women a hundred years from now. We are the thing with feathers and now we must spread our wings and fly.” ‒ Deborah Frances-White
- “you must enter a relationship / with yourself / before anyone else” ‒ Rupi Kaur
- “Women are incredible in groups together. Terrifying. Men have nothing on them.” – Michael Hutchence
- “She believed she could, so she did.” – Unknown
- “Do not ever sell yourself short.” ‒ Jameela Jamil
- “Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness.” – Oprah Winfrey
- “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
- “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
- “Women’s history is bigger than one person, so the way we talk about the past needs to be, as well.” ‒ Alice Wroe
- “I may be wearing makeup, but I can throw a fastball by you at the same time.” — Jennie Finch
- “Don’t look at your feet to see if you are doing it right. Just dance.” — Anne Lamott
- “I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” — Audre Lorde
- “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
- “In our society, the women who break down barriers are those who ignore limits.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger
- “I can and I will. Watch me.” – Carrie Green
- “I’d rather regret the risk that didn’t work out than the chances I didn’t take at all.” – Simone Biles
- “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” — Jane Goodall
- “I hope the fathers and mothers of little girls will look at them and say ‘yes, women can.’” — Dilma Rousseff
- “Where there is a woman, there is magic.” – Ntozake Shange
- “If you have a dream, make it a goal.” – Unknown
- “Always be a first-rate version of yourself instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.” ‒ Judy Garland
- “I do not try to dance better than anyone else. I only try to dance better than myself.” — Arianna Huffington
- “I raise up my voice—not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard.… We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.” — Malala Yousafzai
- “Women’s value has been under-recognized for far too long.” – Sidney Sheldon
- “I will always be the girl who believed she could make it to the moon, in a world that still debates whether girls should have an education and whether women should have reproductive rights.” ‒ Alaa Murabit
- “The path from dreams to success does exist. May you have the vision to find it, the courage to get on to it, and the perseverance to follow it.” – Kalpana Chawla
- “Little girls with dreams become women with vision.” – Unknown
- “Some of us are becoming the men we wanted to marry.” – Gloria Steinem
- “Don’t stop until you’re proud.” – Unknown
- “Do not live someone else’s life and someone else’s idea of what womanhood is. Womanhood is you.” ‒ Viola Davis
- “The most important thing one woman can do for another is expand her sense of actual possibilities.” ‒ Adrienne Rich
- “We earn our optimism. We earn our hope.” ‒ Chloe Wade
- “Be the woman you needed as a girl.” – Unknown
- “Extremists have shown what frightens them most: A girl with a book.” Malala Yousafzai
- “This is our time to change the system. This is our time to change the world.” ‒ Alison Sudol
- “I do not wish women to have power over men, but over themselves.” – Mary Shelley
- “Self-definition and self-determination is about the many varied decisions that we make to compose and journey toward ourselves… It’s OK if your personal definition is in a constant state of flux as you navigate the world.” ‒ Janet Mock
- “I lead from the heart, not the head.” – Princess Diana
- “Life is not what you alone make it. Life is the input of everyone who touched your life and every experience that entered it. We are all part of one another.” – Yuri Kochiyama
- “Nothing can dim the light which shines from within.” – Maya Angelou
- “A successful woman is one who can build a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at her.” – Unknown
- “The most beautiful thing a woman can wear is confidence.” – Blake Lively
- “I don’t get my inspiration from books or a painting. I get it from the women I meet.” – Carolina Herrera
- “We live the hopes of the suffragettes and the demands of Maya Angelou.” ‒ Deborah Frances-White
- “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” – Mother Teresa
- “Every woman’s success should be an inspiration to another. We’re strongest when we cheer each other on.” – Serena Williams
- “I’m tough, I’m ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a bitch, okay.” – Madonna
- “The effects of your actions may unfold in ways you cannot foresee or even imagine. They may unfold long after your death.” ‒ Rebecca Solnit
- “One is not born a woman, one becomes one.” – Simone De Beauvoir
- “Do your thing and don’t care if they like it.” ‒ Tina Fey
- “If there is a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, you must be the one to write it.” ‒ Toni Morrison
- “We need to accept that we won’t always make the right decisions, that we’ll screw up royally sometimes ‒ understanding that failure is not the opposite of success, it’s part of success.” ‒ Arianna Huffington
- “At a time when we are all too often being reminded of what divides us, there is common ground to be found when we share our stories.” ‒ Emma Watson
- “I know what I bring to the table… So trust me when I say I’m not afraid to eat alone.” – Unknown
- “We need to reshape our own perception of how we view ourselves. We have to step up as women and take the lead.” – Beyoncé
- “A charming woman doesn’t follow the crowd; she is herself.” – Loretta Young
- “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
- “Real queens fix each other’s crowns.” – Unknown
- “My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.” — Maya Angelou
What is the motto of Women’s Day?
The 2022 theme of International Women’s Day is “Break the Bias”.
#BreakTheBias and #IWD2022 will connect you to the event on social media.
This year’s mission is:
“Celebrate women’s achievement. Raise awareness against bias. Take action for equality.”
What is the slogan for Women’s Day 2021?
There were two slogans for International Women’s Day 2021 ‒ #ActforEqual and #ChooseToChallenge.
The United Nations mission for IWD 2021 focused on the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on women: “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a Covid-19 world”.
What color do you wear on International Women’s Day?
Generally, purple is the color that’s worn on International Women’s Day, signifying loyalty, constance, and unswerving steadfastness.
What is the symbol of Women’s Day?
The symbol of Venus (♀️) represents International Women’s Day.
But as the day also represents people who have lived a female experience ‒ in all of its forms ‒ the purple heart (💜) is becoming more well-known.
Which flower symbolizes Women’s Day?
There are a few different flowers that represent International Women’s Day:
- Mimosa: To signify strength, sensibility, and sensitivity.
- Cosmos: The purple variety of this flower represents the universal input of women.
- Pansy: The term “pansy” has been used as a derogatory term for those who are seen as ‘too feminine’, so we think the pansy reclaims that femininity.
- Orchid: Representing the female reproductive organs.
- Roses: Another flower representing femininity. Bonus points if you can get your hands on super-rare purple roses!
When is the next International Women’s Day?
International Women’s Day is held every year on March 8th.
At the time of writing, the next International Women’s Day will be on Wednesday, March 8th 2023.
What is the best message for Women’s Day?
Happy International Women’s Day quotes should be authentic—and certainly beyond lip service and cliche. And that means finding words that really speak to you.
But one of our all-time favorites has to be:
“Here’s to strong women: May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them.” – Unknown