Speaking plainly, being a woman in the world (yes, even in the year 2022) can, unfortunately, put you at a disadvantage in a whole host of scenarios. The gender pay gap, a lack of medical research into female-orientated health issues, the ongoing threat of male violence, are sadly just a few we can name off the bat – so, to say that as women we put up with a lot would be a bit of an understatement (and when you add in other characteristics such as race, ability, and sexuality, things, unfortunately, can get even tougher).
With that in mind, International Women’s Day isn’t just a day to celebrate how strong and capable women and female-presenting folk are, even in the face of adversity, it’s also to mark how far we’ve come since the day launched in 1911 and to keep pushing the dial forward when it comes to equality (making the world a better place for all genders).
The idea for the day initially began back in 1909, when suffragist Clara Lemlich demanded more pay, shorter hours, and better working conditions for thousands of garment workers, successfully encouraging women all over New York to go on strike. Then in 1910, at the second International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen, Clara Zetkin (a communist activist) suggested every country ought to celebrate women on one day a year, with the day also being used as an opportunity to further push their demands for change. Fellow attendees all unanimously agreed and so, International Women’s Day was born.
Fast forward to now and you certainly don’t need us to tell you that every day is an opportunity to celebrate women and fight for gender equality, but it can still be helpful to have an annual date in the diary to ensure it stays front and centre of everyone’s minds.
So, in order to keep the momentum moving forward, here are some powerful quotes straight from the mouths of our favourite feminists.
Feminist quotes from inspiring change-makers
1) “I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” – Audre Lorde (writer and civil rights activist)
2) “I’m tough, I’m ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a b*tch, okay.” – Madonna (entertainer)
3) “We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.” – Malala Yousafzai (activist for female education and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate)
4) “Remember this, whoever you are, however, you are, you are equally valid, equally justified and equally beautiful.” – Juno Dawson (author and transgender activist)
5) “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 (entertainer)
6) “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 (poet)
7) “We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller, we say to girls, you can have ambition, but not too much. You should aim to be successful, but not too successful, otherwise, you would threaten the man.” – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (writer)
8) “People think that at the end of the day a man is the only answer. Actually, a fulfilling job is better for me.” – Princess Diana (royal and activist)
9) “Let go of who you think you’re supposed to be; embrace who you are.” – Brené Brown (researcher, author, and podcast host)
10) “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 (writer and civil rights activist)
11) “There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.” – Michelle Obama (attorney, author, and former First Lady of the United States)
12) “Femininity needs to be embraced wherever it is, whether it be in a man or a woman or a gender non-conforming person.” – Emma Watson (actor and UN ambassador)
13) “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 (civil rights activist)
14) “Follow your dreams, not your boyfriends.” – Gillian Anderson (actor)
15) “No woman gets an orgasm from shining the kitchen floor.” – Betty Friedan (feminist writer and activist)
16) “I’m over trying to find the ‘adorable’ way to state my opinion and still be likable. Fuck that. I don’t think I’ve ever worked for a man in charge who spent time contemplating what angle he should use to have his voice heard.” – Jennifer Lawrence (actor)
17) “We need to reshape our own perception of how we view ourselves. We have to step up as women and take lead.” – Beyoncé (entertainer and businesswoman)
18) “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 (entertainer and businesswoman)
19) “Every woman’s success should be an inspiration to another. We’re strongest when we cheer each other on.” – Serena Williams (athlete and businesswoman)
20) “Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness.” – Oprah Winfrey (producer, actress, author, and philanthropist)
21) “A girl should be two things: who and what she wants.” – Coco Chanel (designer)
23) “If I choose, not out of fear, but out of courage, to speak, then there’s something unique that my words can become… It might feel like every story has been told before, but the truth is, no one’s ever told my story in the way I would tell it.” – Amanda Gorman (poet and activist)
24) “Feminism isn’t about making women strong. Women are already strong. It’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength.” – G.D. Anderson (writer and founder of Australian charity, The Cova Project)
25) “The question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who’s going to stop me.” – Ayn Rand (writer and philosopher)