Every year on March 8, the world pauses to celebrate International Women’s Day — a day honoring the achievements of women across history and calling for a more equal future. This collection of 200 international women’s day quote of the day lines gathers the voices of pioneers, artists, scientists, activists, and everyday heroines whose words continue to inspire.
In this collection (8)
Whether you need a international women’s day quote of the day to share on social media, open a speech, or simply start your morning with courage, you will find it here — organized into five themed sections, each with forty timeless lines, plus our editor’s picks and answers to common questions.
Pioneers & Leaders — international women’s day quote of the day
- “You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
- “Do what you feel in your heart to be right — for you’ll be criticized anyway.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
- “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
- “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
- “You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
- “It is better to light a candle than curse the darkness.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
- “Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
- “A woman is like a tea bag; you never know how strong it is until it’s in hot water.” — Attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt
- “The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.” — Amelia Earhart
- “Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace.” — Amelia Earhart
- “Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others.” — Amelia Earhart
- “Never interrupt someone doing what you said couldn’t be done.” — Amelia Earhart
- “The most effective way to do it, is to do it.” — Amelia Earhart
- “Everyone has oceans to fly, if they have the heart to do it. Is it reckless? Maybe. But what do dreams know of boundaries?” — Amelia Earhart
- “I was the conductor of the Underground Railroad for eight years, and I can say what most conductors can’t say — I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger.” — Harriet Tubman
- “I had reasoned this out in my mind, there was one of two things I had a right to, liberty or death.” — Harriet Tubman
- “Every great dream begins with a dreamer.” — Harriet Tubman
- “I had crossed the line. I was free; but there was no one to welcome me to the land of freedom.” — Harriet Tubman
- “Ain’t I a woman?” — Sojourner Truth
- “If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these women together ought to be able to turn it back.” — Sojourner Truth
- “Truth is powerful and it prevails.” — Sojourner Truth
- “I feel safe in the midst of my enemies, for the truth is powerful and will prevail.” — Sojourner Truth
- “Failure is impossible.” — Susan B. Anthony
- “I declare to you that woman must not depend upon the protection of man, but must be taught to protect herself.” — Susan B. Anthony
- “Cautious, careful people, always casting about to preserve their reputation and social standing, never can bring about a reform.” — Susan B. Anthony
- “Independence is happiness.” — Susan B. Anthony
- “We are here, not because we are law-breakers; we are here in our efforts to become law-makers.” — Emmeline Pankhurst
- “I would rather be a rebel than a slave.” — Emmeline Pankhurst
- “Deeds, not words.” — Emmeline Pankhurst
- “I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took any excuse.” — Florence Nightingale
- “Live life when you have it. Life is a splendid gift — there is nothing small about it.” — Florence Nightingale
- “How very little can be done under the spirit of fear.” — Florence Nightingale
- “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” — Shirley Chisholm
- “You don’t make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining.” — Shirley Chisholm
- “Service is the rent that you pay for room on this earth.” — Shirley Chisholm
- “Tremendous amounts of talent are lost to our society just because that talent wears a skirt.” — Shirley Chisholm
- “You cannot shake hands with a clenched fist.” — Indira Gandhi
- “To be liberated, woman must feel free to be herself, not in rivalry to man but in the context of her own capacity.” — Indira Gandhi
- “The power to question is the basis of all human progress.” — Indira Gandhi
- “Whether women are better than men I cannot say — but I can say they are certainly no worse.” — Golda Meir
Artists & Writers
- “A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction.” — Virginia Woolf
- “For most of history, Anonymous was a woman.” — Virginia Woolf
- “Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.” — Virginia Woolf
- “One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” — Virginia Woolf
- “As a woman I have no country. As a woman I want no country.” — Virginia Woolf
- “The eyes of others our prisons; their thoughts our cages.” — Virginia Woolf
- “I hate to hear you talk about all women as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures.” — Jane Austen
- “There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others.” — Jane Austen
- “The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.” — Jane Austen
- “I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of any thing than of a book!” — Jane Austen
- “A lady’s imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment.” — Jane Austen
- “Friendship is certainly the finest balm for the pangs of disappointed love.” — Jane Austen
- “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” — Maya Angelou
- “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” — Maya Angelou
- “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” — Maya Angelou
- “Nothing will work unless you do.” — Maya Angelou
- “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
- “You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them.” — Maya Angelou
- “Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.” — Maya Angelou
- “We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.” — Maya Angelou
- “Feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly?” — Frida Kahlo
- “I paint my own reality.” — Frida Kahlo
- “I am my own muse. I am the subject I know best. The subject I want to know better.” — Frida Kahlo
- “Nothing is worth more than laughter. It is strength to laugh and to abandon oneself, to be light.” — Frida Kahlo
- “I paint flowers so they will not die.” — Frida Kahlo
- “At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can.” — Frida Kahlo
- “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” — Alice Walker
- “No person is your friend who demands your silence, or denies your right to grow.” — Alice Walker
- “Don’t wait around for other people to be happy for you. Any happiness you get you’ve got to make yourself.” — Alice Walker
- “Hard times require furious dancing.” — Alice Walker
- “In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect.” — Alice Walker
- “We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller.” — Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- “The problem with gender is that it prescribes how we should be rather than recognizing how we are.” — Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- “Culture does not make people. People make culture.” — Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- “Never ever accept ‘Because You Are A Woman’ as a reason for doing or not doing anything.” — Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- “I have chosen to no longer be apologetic for my femaleness and my femininity.” — Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- “I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.” — Charlotte Brontë
- “I care for myself. The more solitary, the more friendless, the more unsustained I am, the more I will respect myself.” — Charlotte Brontë
- “Do you think I am an automaton? — a machine without feelings?” — Charlotte Brontë
- “Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity or registering wrongs.” — Charlotte Brontë
Scientists & Thinkers
- “Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood.” — Marie Curie
- “Be less curious about people and more curious about ideas.” — Marie Curie
- “I was taught that the way of progress was neither swift nor easy.” — Marie Curie
- “Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves.” — Marie Curie
- “I am among those who think that science has great beauty.” — Marie Curie
- “First principle: never to let one’s self be beaten down by persons or by events.” — Marie Curie
- “I have frequently been questioned, especially by women, of how I could reconcile family life with a scientific career.” — Marie Curie
- “You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals.” — Marie Curie
- “Girls are capable of doing everything men are capable of doing. Sometimes they have more imagination than men.” — Katherine Johnson
- “Like what you do, and then you will do your best.” — Katherine Johnson
- “We will always have STEM with us. Some things will drop out of the public eye and go away, but there will always be science, engineering, and technology.” — Katherine Johnson
- “I counted everything. I counted the steps to the road, the steps up to church, the number of dishes and silverware I washed.” — Katherine Johnson
- “Don’t let anyone rob you of your imagination, your creativity, or your curiosity.” — Mae Jemison
- “Never be limited by other people’s limited imaginations.” — Mae Jemison
- “It’s your place in the world; it’s your life. Go on and do all you can with it, and make it the life you want to live.” — Mae Jemison
- “The arts and sciences are avatars of human creativity.” — Mae Jemison
- “The Analytical Engine weaves algebraical patterns just as the Jacquard loom weaves flowers and leaves.” — Ada Lovelace
- “I never am really satisfied that I understand anything; because, understand it well as I may, my comprehension can only be an infinitesimal fraction of all I want to understand.” — Ada Lovelace
- “The more I study, the more insatiable do I feel my genius for it to be.” — Ada Lovelace
- “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” — Jane Goodall
- “The least I can do is speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves.” — Jane Goodall
- “You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you.” — Jane Goodall
- “Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference.” — Jane Goodall
- “In nature, nothing exists alone.” — Rachel Carson
- “The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction.” — Rachel Carson
- “Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.” — Rachel Carson
- “Humans are allergic to change. They love to say, ‘We’ve always done it this way.’ I try to fight that.” — Grace Hopper
- “The most dangerous phrase in the language is, ‘We’ve always done it this way.’” — Grace Hopper
- “A ship in port is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.” — Attributed to Grace Hopper
- “One is not born, but becomes a woman.” — Simone de Beauvoir
- “Change your life today. Don’t gamble on the future, act now, without delay.” — Simone de Beauvoir
- “I am too intelligent, too demanding, and too resourceful for anyone to be able to take charge of me entirely.” — Simone de Beauvoir
- “It is in the knowledge of the genuine conditions of our lives that we must draw our strength to live and our reasons for acting.” — Simone de Beauvoir
- “The most radical revolutionary will become a conservative the day after the revolution.” — Hannah Arendt
- “Forgiveness is the key to action and freedom.” — Hannah Arendt
- “The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil.” — Hannah Arendt
- “The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” — Ayn Rand
- “Achievement of your happiness is the only moral purpose of your life.” — Ayn Rand
- “Reserve your right to think, for even to think wrongly is better than not to think at all.” — Attributed to Hypatia
- “We especially need imagination in science. It is not all mathematics, nor all logic, but it is somewhat beauty and poetry.” — Maria Mitchell
Activists & Changemakers
- “One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.” — Malala Yousafzai
- “I raise up my voice — not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard.” — Malala Yousafzai
- “We realize the importance of our voices only when we are silenced.” — Malala Yousafzai
- “When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful.” — Malala Yousafzai
- “Let us wage a glorious struggle against illiteracy, poverty and terrorism.” — Malala Yousafzai
- “They thought that the bullets would silence us, but they failed.” — Malala Yousafzai
- “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
- “I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear.” — Rosa Parks
- “I would like to be known as a person who is concerned about freedom and equality and justice and prosperity for all people.” — Rosa Parks
- “Each person must live their life as a model for others.” — Rosa Parks
- “Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others.” — Rosa Parks
- “A feminist is anyone who recognizes the equality and full humanity of women and men.” — Gloria Steinem
- “The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.” — Gloria Steinem
- “Women have always been an equal part of the past. We just haven’t been a part of history.” — Gloria Steinem
- “Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.” — Gloria Steinem
- “Without leaps of imagination or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities.” — Gloria Steinem
- “Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.” — Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- “Women belong in all places where decisions are being made.” — Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- “My mother told me to be a lady. And for her, that meant be your own person, be independent.” — Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- “So often in life, things that you regard as an impediment turn out to be great, good fortune.” — Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- “I dissent.” — Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- “It’s the little things citizens do. That’s what will make the difference.” — Wangari Maathai
- “We cannot tire or give up. We owe it to the present and future generations of all species to rise up and walk!” — Wangari Maathai
- “Until you dig a hole, you plant a tree, you water it and make it survive, you haven’t done a thing. You are just talking.” — Wangari Maathai
- “¡Sí, se puede!” — Dolores Huerta
- “Every moment is an organizing opportunity, every person a potential activist, every minute a chance to change the world.” — Dolores Huerta
- “I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change. I am changing the things I cannot accept.” — Angela Davis
- “Radical simply means grasping things at the root.” — Angela Davis
- “I am deliberate and afraid of nothing.” — Audre Lorde
- “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
- “Your silence will not protect you.” — Audre Lorde
- “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” — Audre Lorde
- “Feminism is for everybody.” — bell hooks
- “Life-transforming ideas have always come to me through books.” — bell hooks
- “The function of art is to do more than tell it like it is — it’s to imagine what is possible.” — bell hooks
- “You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words.” — Greta Thunberg
- “I want you to act as if the house is on fire, because it is.” — Greta Thunberg
- “I want to be the last girl in the world with a story like mine.” — Nadia Murad
- “Don’t wait for a Gandhi, don’t wait for a King, don’t wait for a Mandela. You are your own Mandela, you are your own Gandhi, you are your own King.” — Leymah Gbowee
- “We can’t eat money, or drink oil.” — Autumn Peltier
Everyday Strength
- “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement.” — Helen Keller
- “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” — Helen Keller
- “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched — they must be felt with the heart.” — Helen Keller
- “Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow.” — Helen Keller
- “Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” — Helen Keller
- “Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened.” — Helen Keller
- “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something.” — Helen Keller
- “Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.” — Helen Keller
- “I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.” — Louisa May Alcott
- “She is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain.” — Louisa May Alcott
- “Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations.” — Louisa May Alcott
- “Love is a great beautifier.” — Louisa May Alcott
- “It’s been my experience that you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that you will.” — L. M. Montgomery
- “Isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?” — L. M. Montgomery
- “Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think.” — L. M. Montgomery
- “Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.” — Harriet Beecher Stowe
- “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
- “The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone.” — Harriet Beecher Stowe
- “The secret of joy in work is contained in one word — excellence.” — Pearl S. Buck
- “To eat bread without hope is still slowly to starve to death.” — Pearl S. Buck
- “A good marriage is one which allows for change and growth in the individuals and in the way they express their love.” — Pearl S. Buck
- “What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult for each other?” — George Eliot
- “The strongest principle of growth lies in human choice.” — George Eliot
- “Life seems to go on without effort when I am filled with music.” — George Eliot
- “It is never too late to be what you might have been.” — Attributed to George Eliot
- “Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul.” — Emily Dickinson
- “Forever is composed of nows.” — Emily Dickinson
- “We never know how high we are till we are called to rise.” — Emily Dickinson
- “I dwell in Possibility.” — Emily Dickinson
- “What is beautiful is good, and who is good will soon be beautiful.” — Sappho
- “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.” — Elizabeth Barrett Browning
- “Light tomorrow with today.” — Elizabeth Barrett Browning
- “God’s gifts put man’s best dreams to shame.” — Elizabeth Barrett Browning
- “Can anything be sadder than work left unfinished? Yes, work never begun.” — Christina Rossetti
- “Who has seen the wind? Neither I nor you.” — Christina Rossetti
- “My candle burns at both ends; it will not last the night.” — Edna St. Vincent Millay
- “I am not resigned to the shutting away of loving hearts in the hard ground.” — Edna St. Vincent Millay
- “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” — Mary Oliver
- “Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this too, was a gift.” — Mary Oliver
- “Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart.” — Anne Frank
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a good International Women’s Day quote of the day?
A good international women’s day quote of the day is one that honors women’s achievements and inspires action — for example, Eleanor Roosevelt’s reminder that the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. Browse our editor’s picks below for eleven standout lines.
When is International Women’s Day celebrated?
International Women’s Day is celebrated every year on March 8. It has been observed since the early 1900s and was officially recognized by the United Nations in 1975.
Who are some of the women quoted in this collection?
This collection features 200 lines from remarkable women including Eleanor Roosevelt, Marie Curie, Maya Angelou, Malala Yousafzai, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Frida Kahlo, Jane Goodall, and many more — organized into pioneers, artists, scientists, activists, and everyday strength.
Can I share these international women’s day quote of the day lines?
Yes — these international women’s day quote of the day lines are perfect for sharing on social media, in cards, speeches, and classrooms. Each quote includes its author attribution; lines with uncertain sources are clearly labeled.
Editor’s Picks
| Quote | Author | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” — Eleanor Roosevelt | Eleanor Roosevelt | Morning inspiration |
| “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” — Shirley Chisholm | Shirley Chisholm | Social media |
| “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” — Maya Angelou | Maya Angelou | Speeches |
| “Feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly?” — Frida Kahlo | Frida Kahlo | Classrooms |
| “Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood.” — Marie Curie | Marie Curie | Cards |
| “Don’t let anyone rob you of your imagination, your creativity, or your curiosity.” — Mae Jemison | Mae Jemison | Leadership talks |
| “One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.” — Malala Yousafzai | Malala Yousafzai | March 8 posts |
| “A feminist is anyone who recognizes the equality and full humanity of women and men.” — Gloria Steinem | Gloria Steinem | Activism |
| “Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.” — Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Ruth Bader Ginsburg | Keynotes |
| “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement.” — Helen Keller | Helen Keller | Journaling |
| “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” — Mary Oliver | Mary Oliver | Gifting |
More to Explore
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