45 Inspirational Quotes by 45 Inspirational Women

8th of March...

March 8 is a global commemoration for Women; we celebrate advocacy, achievement, equality, peace, and recognition- as we should every day!

Why 45?

45 years ago, 1975 was pronounced International Women's Year.

45 years ago, the first-ever World Conference on Women was held in Mexico City.

45 years ago, the United Nations celebrated International Women's Day for the first time.

In honor of the 45 years of this celebration’s global recognition, Bigen wants to share 45 inspirational quotes by 45 inspirational women who have encouraged, influenced, and enlightened womankind!

1. “Step out of the history that is holding you back. Step into the new story you are willing to create.” 
   –Oprah Winfrey, Billionaire, Media Executive, and Philanthropist
   
   

    

2. “It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union…. Men, their rights and nothing more; women, their rights and nothing less.”
   –Susan B. Anthony, American Women's Rights Activist
   
   
3. "If the first woman God ever made was strong enough to turn the world upside down all alone, these together ought to be able to turn it back and get it right side up again."
   –Sojourner Truth, American Abolitionist
   
   
4. “There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.
   –Michelle Obama, Former First Lady of The United States
   
   

    

5. “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement.”
   –Helen Keller, American Author
   
   
6. "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, Fashion Designer
   
   
7. “I learned compassion from being discriminated against. Everything bad that’s ever happened to me has taught me compassion.” 
   –Ellen DeGeneres, Comedian and Television Host
   
   

    

8. “It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody.”
   –Maya Angelou, Poet and American Civil Rights Activist
   
   
9. “I’m always perpetually out of my comfort zone.”
   –Tory Burch, Fashion Designer
   
   
10. “Power’s not given to you. You have to take it.”
    –Beyoncé Knowles Carter, Award-Winning Musician
    
    

     

11. “Whenever you are blue or lonely or stricken by some humiliating thing you did, the cure and the hope is in caring about other people.”
    –Diane Sawyer, American Journalist
    
    
12. "Getting past those labels, for me, pretty much really easy because I define myself."
    –Serena Williams, Professional Athlete
    
    
13. “Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world.”
    –Hillary Clinton, Presumptive Democratic Presidential Nominee
    
    
14. “Doubt is a killer. You just have to know who you are and what you stand for.”
    –Jennifer Lopez, American Actress, Singer, Dancer
    
    

     

15. “If you find someone you love in your life, then hang on to that love.”
    –Princess Diana, Princess of Wales
    
    
16. “When I’m tired, I rest. I say, ‘I can’t be a superwoman today.’”
    –Jada Pinkett Smith, American Actress
    
    
17. “The best thing to hold onto in life is each other.”
    –Audrey Hepburn, British Actress
    
    

     

18. "Each person must live their life as a model for others."
    –Rosa Parks, Civil Rights Activist
    
    
19. "People respond well to those that are sure of what they want."
    –Anna Wintour, Editor-in-Chief, American Vogue
    
    
20. “At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can.” 
    –Frida Kahlo, Mexican Painter
    
    

     

21. “Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.”
    –Mother Teresa, Saint
    
    
22. “The best protection any woman can have … is courage.”
    –Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Women's Rights Activist
    
    
23. “Ninety percent of leadership is the ability to communicate something people want.”
    –Dianne Feinstein, U.S. Senator
    
    
24. “We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.”
    –J.K. Rowling, British Author
    
    

     

25. “You can’t be that kid standing at the top of the waterslide, overthinking it. You have to go down the chute.”
    –Tina Fey, American Actress
    
    
26. “No one changes the world who isn’t obsessed.” 
    –Billie Jean King, American Tennis Player
    
    
27. “Without an open-minded mind, you can never be a great success.”
    –Martha Stewart, American Businesswoman
    
    
28. “All careers go up and down like friendships, like marriages, like anything else, and you can’t bat a thousand all the time.”
    –Julie Andrews, Actress
    
    

     

29. “If you can’t go straight ahead, you go around the corner.”
    –Cher, American Singer
    
    
30. “I may be kindly, I am ordinarily gentle, but in my line of business I am obliged to will terribly what I will at all.” 
    –Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia 
    
    
31. “Giving up doesn’t always mean you’re weak. Sometimes you’re just strong enough to let go.”
    –Taylor Swift, Award-Winning Musician
    
    

     

32. “Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself.”
    –Eleanor Roosevelt, Former First Lady of The United States
    
    
33. “If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.”
    –Dolly Parton, American Singer-Songwriter
    
    
34. “I didn’t get there by wishing for it or hoping for it, but by working for it.”
    –Estée Lauder, American Businesswoman
    
    
35. “The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.”
    –Amelia Earhart, American Aviator
    
    

     

36. “Love is anterior to Life, Posterior to Death, Initial of Creation, and The Exponent of Earth." 
    –Emily Dickinson, American Poet
    
    
37. “One likes people much better when they’re battered down by a prodigious siege of misfortune than when they triumph.”
    –Virginia Woolf, Writer
    
    
38. “Some women choose to follow men, and some choose to follow their dreams. If you’re wondering which way to go, remember that your career will never wake up and tell you that it doesn’t love you anymore.”
    –Lady Gaga, American Singer-Songwriter, Actress
    
    

     

39. "I had two options. One was to remain silent and never to speak and then to be killed by the terrorists. The second option was to speak up for my rights and then die. And I chose the second one."
    –Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Peace Prize Winner
    
    
40. "When we're growing up there are all sorts of people telling us what to do when really what we need is space to work out who to be.
    –Ellen Page,  Award-Winning Actress
    
    
41. “I am a woman with thoughts and questions and sh*t to say. I say if I’m beautiful. I say if I’m strong. You will not determine my story – I will.”
    –Amy Schumer, American Stand-Up Comedian, Actress
    
    

     

42. "The difference between successful people and others is how long they spend time feeling sorry for themselves."
    –Barbara Corcoran, Real Estate Magnate and 'Shark Tank' Investor
    
    
43. “I wouldn’t ask anyone to do anything I wouldn’t do myself.”
    –Indra Nooyi, CEO PepsiCo
    
    
44. “I am endlessly fascinated that playing football is considered a training ground for leadership, but raising children isn’t.”
    –Dee Dee Myers, former White House Press Secretary
    
    
45. "I tell my daughters to have their voice in this world, and it became clear I needed to role-model that."
    –Melinda Gates, Co-Founder, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation