There’s truly nothing better in my mind than that rush of energy when you experience something that inspires you. One sentence, one piece of artwork, one song, one book, one quote can lead to this instant moment where you feel that opportunities are endless. I love the power of words and the power of a great quote that can catapult me to a place where I feel like I can change the world and accomplish my dreams. In honor of Women’s Equality Day, I have curated a collection of quotes on equality from 15 of my favorite leading ladies so that you can experience that refreshing energy of inspiration that I love to feel on a daily basis. It’s these women that have helped to pave the way for many other women and continue to lead us to a place of equality, inspiring us to further strive for equality as well. Keep scrolling to get your daily dose of empowerment.
“I wanted to be an empowered woman, and I became an empowered woman. And now I want to empower every woman. And I do it through my clothes, I do it through my words, I do it through my money, I do it through everything.”
— Diane Von Furstenberg via BrainyQuote
“The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.”
— Coco Chanel via Girlboss
“Even if your dream seems unattainable, you can achieve it if you stay focused, driven, and diligent.”
— Rebecca Minkoff via Who What Wear
“There's a negative connotation to ambitious women, and I think that we should be able to be proud of being ambitious and not shy away from that, if that… is what you want to do.”
— Tory Burch via BrainyQuote
“We need to reshape our own perception of how we view ourselves. We have to step up as women and take the lead.”
— Beyonce via Good Reads
“The most important thing to strive for in life is some kind of personal and professional achievement. Not as a man or a woman, but as a person.”
— Candace Bushnell via BrainyQuote
“Women, it feels like, are beginning to write our own history and our own version of what success can look like for ourselves individually; a conversation that we can have collectively as a group, and share ideas, learnings, wins, losses, and hacks to define together what that means for us individually.”
— Sophia Amoruso via CNBC
“We want to empower women to do exactly what they want, to be true to themselves, to have the opportunities to develop. Women should feel free. There is no typical feminist, there is nothing anywhere that says you have to meet a certain [set of] criteria.”
— Emma Watson via Entertainment Weekly
“We step up to the plate because there have been…white men in boardrooms, making decisions about our beauty and our fashion. They've ignored community and they've ignored culture, and you cannot do that anymore.”
— Jen Atkin via Girlboss
“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 via Girlboss
“The best thing about girl power is that over time it turns into woman power.”
— Cleo Wade via Cleo Wade
“Every woman I know, particularly the senior ones, has been called too aggressive at work. We know in gender blind studies that men are more aggressive in their offices than women. We know that. Yet we're busy telling all the women that they're too aggressive. That's the issue.”
— Sheryl Sandberg via The Guardian
“I love the idea of elevating women, because we're still trying to reach equality, but we aren't there yet. If we can show all these amazing things that women can do, it gives other women and girls role models to look up to and think, I could be like that entertainer or lawyer or entrepreneur or mom who chooses to stay home. It changes their aspirations of who they can be.”
— Melinda Gates via Good Housekeeping
“We need to understand that there is no formula for how women should lead their lives. That is why we must respect the choices that each woman makes for herself and her family. Every woman deserves the chance to realize her God-given potential.”
— Hillary Clinton via Grazia Daily UK
“Even if I am a girl, even if people think I can't do it, I should not lose hope.”
— Malala Yousafzai via Forbes
Do you have any favorite quotes that inspire you daily? Let us know in the comments below!
Opening image by Amanda Smith
