It’s not easy being a woman in a world where patriarchy is still a thing. But these strong women have changed the game and made their gender their strength. Here are their inspiring and empowering words that will make women proud of themselves, and men proud of women.
“I’m tough, I’m ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a bitch, okay.” —Madonna
“There’s nothing a man can do, that I can’t do better and in heels.” —Ginger Rogers
“No country can truly flourish if it stifles the potential of its women and deprives itself of the contributions of half of its citizens.” —Michelle Obama
“The point is not for women simply to take power out of men’s hands, since that wouldn’t change anything about the world. It’s a question precisely of destroying that notion of power.” —Simone de Beauvoir
“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 leading.” —Amy Poehler
“I am a Woman phenomenally. Phenomenal Woman, that’s me.” —Maya Angelou
“A man told me that for a woman, I was very opinionated. I said, ‘For a man, you’re kind of ignorant’.” —Anne Hathaway
“If you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman.” —Margaret Thatcher
“We need to reshape our own perception of how we view ourselves. We have to step up as women and take the lead.” —Beyonce
“Women have traditionally taken secondary roles to men. I want to be the boss not the secretary.” —Bianca Frazier
“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
“Stop telling girls they can be anything they want when they grow up. I think it’s a mistake. Not because they can’t, but because it would have never occurred to them that they couldn’t.” —Sarah Silverman
“Bitches get stuff done.” —Tina Fey
“Because women are so clever and flexible and such great communicators, it’s been hard for men to evolve and keep up.” —Rashida Jones
“Above all, be the heroine in your life, not the victim.” —Nora Ephron