There are moments in every woman’s journey when she needs to hear just the right words — the kind that lift her up, remind her of her worth, and push her forward. At FocusU, we’ve seen time and again how the right quote, shared at the right moment, can shift perspectives, inspire action, and offer a sense of community.
Whether it’s during a Women’s Day celebration, a leadership training for women leaders, or even a small gesture of appreciation during team-building sessions, these words matter. They affirm, inspire, and remind us that the challenges faced by women — while varied — are never solitary.
In our experience designing learning journeys, we’ve noticed that quotes can serve as powerful anchors during workshops. They often spark deep conversations, help frame new mindsets, and act as memorable cues long after a session is over. That’s why we curated this list — to offer not just inspiration, but also to support those leading the charge in creating more inclusive, empowered workplaces.
Related Read: 16 Most Inspiring Women Who Left A Mark On The World
So, here it is — a collection of 100 empowering quotes that we’ve personally seen make an impact. These are quotes we’ve included in slide decks, printed on journals, and even used to open team sessions. We hope they resonate with you too.
1. A woman with a voice is, by definition, a strong woman. But the search to find that voice can be remarkably difficult.
—Melinda Gates
2. You don’t have to play masculine to be a strong woman.
– Mary Elizabeth Winstead
3. Women are like teabags. We don’t know our true strength until we are in hot water.
– Eleanor Roosevelt
4. A strong woman is a woman determined to do something others are determined not be done.
– Marge Piercy
5. Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another stepping stone to greatness.
– Oprah Winfrey
6. We need women who are so strong they can be gentle, so educated they can be humble, so fierce they can be compassionate, so passionate they can be rational, and so disciplined they can be free.
– Kavita Ramdas
7. Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.
– Nora Ephron
8. Women are leaders everywhere you look—from the CEO who runs a Fortune 500 company to the housewife who raises her children and heads her household. Our country was built by strong women, and we will continue to break down walls and defy stereotypes.
– Nancy Pelosi
9. Whatever women do they must do twice as well as men to be thought half as good. Luckily, this is not difficult.
– Charlotte Whitton
11. 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 learning.
– Amy Poehler
12. A strong woman understands that the gifts such as logic, decisiveness, and strength are just as feminine as intuition and emotional connection. She values and uses all of her gifts.
– Nancy Rathburn
13. Women have discovered that they cannot rely on men’s chivalry to give them justice.
– Helen Keller
14. If fighting for women’s health care and paid family leave and equal pay is playing the women’s card, then deal me in.
– Hillary Clinton
15. Women that believe in each other can survive anything. Women who believe in each other create armies that will win kingdoms and wars.
– Nikita Gill
16. One of the best things that ever happened to me is that I’m a woman. That is the way all females should feel.
– Marilyn Monroe
17. What I want young women and girls to know is: You are powerful and your voice matters. You’re going to walk into many rooms where you may be the only one who looks like you or who has had the experiences you’ve had. So, you use that voice and be strong.
– Kamala Harris
18. Justice is about making sure that being polite is not the same thing as being quiet. In fact, often times, the most righteous thing you can do is shake the table.
– Alexandria Ocasio Cortez
19. I raise up my voice—not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard. … We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.
– Malala Yousafzai
21. Black women have had to develop a larger vision of our society than perhaps any other group. They have had to understand white men, white women, and black men. And they have had to understand themselves. When black women win victories, it is a boost for virtually every segment of society.
– Angela Davis
22. Of all the nasty outcomes predicted for women’s liberation … none was more alarming than the suggestion that women would eventually become just like men.
– Barbara Ehrenreich
23. To be liberated, woman must feel free to be herself, not in rivalry to man but in the context of her own capacity and her personality.
– Indira Gandhi
24. Some of us are becoming the men we wanted to marry.
– Gloria Steinem
25. Don’t just stand for the success of other women – insist on it.
– Gail Blanke
26. Woman is the companion of man, gifted with equal mental capacity.
– Mahatma Gandhi
27. Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world.
– Hillary Clinton
28. There is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women.
– Kofi Annan
29. If women are expected to do the same work as men, we must teach them the same things.
– Plato
31. I hope the fathers and mothers of little girls will look at them and say, ‘Yes, women can.”
– Dilma Rousseff
32. Whether women are better than men I cannot say – but I can say they are certainly no worse.
– Golda Meir
33. The empowered woman is powerful beyond measure and beautiful beyond description.
– Steve Maraboli
34. I tell my daughters to have their voice in this world, and it became clear I needed to role model that.
– Melinda Gates
35. Do not live someone else’s life and someone else’s idea of what womanhood is. Womanhood is you.
– Viola Davis
36. My mother told me to be a lady. And for her, that meant be your own person, be independent.
– Ruth Bader Ginsburg
37. Every woman’s success should be an inspiration to another. We’re strongest when we cheer each other on.
– Serena Williams
38. I think women are foolish to pretend they are equal to men; they are far superior and always have been.
– William Golding, Lord of the Flies
39. Women will only have true equality when men share with them the responsibility of bringing up the next generation.
– Ruth Bader Ginsburg
41. No woman should be told she can’t make decisions about her own body. When women’s rights are under attack, we fight back.
– Kamala Harris
42. No country can ever truly flourish if it stifles the potential of its women and deprives itself of the contributions of half of its citizens.
– Michelle Obama
43. I hate to hear you talk about women as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures. None of us want to be in calm water all our lives.
– Jane Austen
44. Any woman who understands the problems of running a home will be nearer to understanding the problems of running a country.
– Margaret Thatcher
45. One of the lessons that I grew up with was to always stay true to yourself and never let what somebody else says distract you from your goals.
– Michelle Obama
46. Of course, I am not worried about intimidating men. The type of man who will be intimidated by me is exactly the type of man I have no interest in.
– Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
47. I think the girl who is able to earn her own living and pay her own way should be as happy as anybody on earth. The sense of independence and security is very sweet.
– Susan B. Anthony
48. Because I am a woman, I must make unusual efforts to succeed. If I fail, no one will say, “She doesn’t have what it takes.” They will say, “Women don’t have what it takes.”
– Clare Boothe Luce
49. We need women at all levels, including the top, to change the dynamic, reshape the conversation, to make sure women’s voices are heard and heeded, not overlooked and ignored.
– Sheryl Sandberg
51. There is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.
– Madeleine Albright
52. You can’t be brave if you’ve only had wonderful things happen to you.
– Mary Tyler Moore
53. If you feel like there’s something out there that you’re supposed to be doing, if you have a passion for it, then stop wishing and just do it.
– Wanda Sykes
54. Now that I’ve matured, I’ve realized that—at the end of the day—what’s really important is the work, not what people think of me.
– Jane Lynch
55. It’s good to be able to laugh at yourself and the problems you face in life. Sense of humor can save you.
– Margaret Cho
56. You should always speak your mind, and be bold, and be obnoxious, and do whatever you want and don’t let anybody tell you to stop it.
– Chelsea Handler
57. When life gives you lemons, squirt someone in the eye.
– Cathy Guisewite
58. Well-behaved women seldom make history.
– Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
59. Nothing is impossible, the word itself says “I’m possible!”
– Audrey Hepburn
61. The minute you settle for less than you deserve, you get even less than you settled for.
– Maureen Dowd
62. If you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in the dark with a mosquito.
– Betty Reese
63. Even a stopped clock is right twice every day. After some years, it can boast of a long series of successes.
– Marie von Ebner Eschenbach
64. If you’re going to be able to look back on something and laugh about it, you might as well laugh about it now.
– Marie Osmond
65. It’s okay to look at the past and the future. Just don’t stare.
– Lisa Lieberman Wang
66. Smiling is definitely one of the best beauty remedies. If you have a good sense of humor and a good approach to life, that’s beautiful.
– Rashida Jones
67. Whoever said, ‘It’s not whether you win or lose that counts,’ probably lost.
– Martina Navratilova
68. Life isn’t finding shelter in the storm. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.
– Sherrilyn Kenyon
69. If we threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.
– Regina Brett
71. The trouble with the rat-race is that, even if you win, you’re still a rat.
– Lily Tomlin
72. If you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman.
– Margaret Thatcher
73. I’ve often thought it unfair that women are expected to stay at home when there’s a fight to be won. If a woman has the strength to bear a child, she can swing a sword as well as any man.
– Karen Hawkins
74. I’d much rather be a woman than a man. Women can cry, they can wear cute clothes, and they’re the first to be rescued off sinking ships.
– Gilda Radner
75. Women will never be as successful as men because they have no wives to advise them.
– Dick Van Dyke
76. I’ve interviewed and portrayed people who’ve withstood some of the ugliest things life can throw at you, but the one quality all of them seem to share is an ability to maintain hope for a brighter morning, even during our darkest nights.
– Oprah Winfrey
77. I found that ultimately if you truly pour your heart into what you believe in – even if it makes you vulnerable – amazing things can and will happen.
– Emma Watson
78. The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain!
– Dolly Parton
79. In life there is no real safety except for self-belief.
– Madonna
81. As women, we have to start appreciating our own worth and each other’s worth. Seek out strong women to befriend, to align yourself with, to learn from, to collaborate with, to be inspired by, to support, and enlightened by.
– Madonna
82. With each generation, women’s ability to live the lives they choose reaches a place their grandmothers never thought possible. But that doesn’t mean everything is perfect or that our work is finished.
– Cathy McMorris Rodgers
83. To all the little girls who are watching, never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world to pursue and achieve your own dreams.
– Hillary Clinton
84. It took me quite a long time to develop a voice and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent.
– Madeleine Albright
85. You could certainly say that I’ve never underestimated myself. There’s nothing wrong with being ambitious.
– Angela Merkel
86. And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.
– Anaïs Nin
87. There is a stubbornness about me that can never bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.
– Jane Austen
88. We do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all of the power we need inside ourselves already.
– J.K. Rowling
89. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.
– Jane Goodall
91. We can do no great things, only small things with great love.
– Mother Teresa
92. No matter how plain a woman may be, if truth and honesty are written across her face, she will be beautiful.
– Eleanor Roosevelt
93. Be who you are and say how you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those that matter don’t mind.
– Dr. Seuss
94. When someone tells you that you can’t, turn around and say ‘watch me.
– Anonymous
95. Beautiful people are not always good but good people are always beautiful.
– Imam Ali
96. I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning to sail my ship.
– Louisa May Alcott
97. My philosophy is that not only are you responsible for your life but doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.
– Oprah Winfrey
98. Disciplining yourself to do what you know is right and important, although difficult, is the highroad to pride, self-esteem, and personal satisfaction.
– Margaret Thatcher
99. My grandfather once told me that there were two kinds of people; those who do the work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was much less competition.
– Indira Gandhi
How We Use These Quotes in Corporate Learning
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If you’re an L&D professional, an HR business partner, or a leader looking to celebrate and elevate the women in your organization, here are a few ways to bring these quotes to life:
1. Quote-Based Reflections in Training:
We often begin leadership workshops for women by placing one of these quotes at each participant’s seat. It serves as a conversation starter and a moment of personal connection. Some even keep their quote long after the session is over!
2. Daily Affirmation Boards:
Several of our client organizations have adopted a “quote of the day” practice—where leaders or team members share one empowering quote on internal Slack channels, WhatsApp groups, or even office noticeboards. It becomes a rhythm of encouragement.
3. Themed Celebrations:
From Women’s Day to diversity and inclusion weeks, quotes like these are perfect for anchoring internal campaigns, posters, or mailers. One of our clients printed these quotes on bookmarks and distributed them at an all-hands event—an idea that’s now caught on at multiple offices.
4. Coaching Conversations:
Many of these quotes have found their way into coaching and mentoring conversations. We’ve seen mentors share them to boost confidence, and mentees pick one that resonates with their journey.
The Broader Message
In our work across industries, we’ve seen progress in women’s leadership—but we also know there’s still a long road ahead. We’ve facilitated spaces where women openly talk about imposter syndrome, gendered expectations, and the pressure to “do it all.” In these moments, a quote can be a spark—but it’s the larger system of support, learning, and reflection that sustains the fire.
If you’re leading learning initiatives at your organization, consider how moments of emotional resonance—like those sparked by quotes—can be blended into more structured leadership programs. They don’t replace skill-building, but they certainly deepen it.
We’re often asked: “Isn’t sharing quotes too soft for the workplace?” Our answer is simple—what’s soft is often what builds the strongest foundations. When you invest in emotional connection, you make space for trust, inclusion, and psychological safety.
Related Read: 2 Women. 2 Stories. 1 Everest.
Final Word (Or Maybe 100 of Them!)
As we compiled this list, we were reminded that while no quote alone can change the world, it can change someone’s moment. And sometimes, that’s exactly what’s needed.
We encourage you to:
- Share these quotes widely
- Use them as opening prompts in meetings
- Reflect on them personally or with your team
- Pair them with stories from the women in your own organization
And remember — empowerment isn’t an annual campaign. It’s an everyday practice.
Let’s keep showing up for each other, one quote, one voice, one courageous conversation at a time.
If you’ve used quotes like these in your own sessions, we’d love to hear about it. Or better yet, drop us your favorite quote — we’re always looking to expand our collection.
Related Read: 5 Women Leaders Who Proved Leadership is Everyone’s Business
