Although we celebrate the women in our lives every day, today, March 8th, is International Women’s Day, which places an extra powerful spotlight on all the incredible ladies out there.
National Women’s Day has been celebrated in different countries all around the world since the start of the 20th century, but it in 2001 an online platform was launched to re-energize the day and turn it into a global celebration of all the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women from every corner of the world. Thus, International Women’s Day was born.
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In honor of this day, we’ve compiled a list of quotes from some of history and society’s most inspiring women, which we encourage you to send to all the ladies in your life so we can all feel empowered on this amazing day!
Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
While this quote has historically been linked to former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, it was actually penned by Harvard professor Laurel Thatcher Ulrich in an academic paper in 1976.
Cher
You can always count on pop goddess and legendary performer Cher to offer up some inspirational quotes that have us feeling loud and proud on International Women’s Day.
Simone De Beauvoir
French writer and feminist Simone De Beauvoir is best known for writing what The Guardian once referred to as the feminist movement’s bible, “The Second Sex,” in 1949. As a result of her pioneering efforts, she essentially laid the foundation for the modern feminist movement.
Margaret Thatcher
In 1965 , British politician Margaret Thatcher, who was just five years away from being elected prime minister, addressed the National Council of the Townwomen’s Guilds in London where she made a speech that included this particularly poignant line.
Golda Meir
Golda Meir served as the fourth Prime Minister of Israel in 1969 and was the very first woman to lead the country. In 2020, TIME Magazine named her as one of its 100 Women of the Year.
Maya Angelou
Although she is best known for her poetry and storytelling, Maya Angelou was also a civil rights activist whose poem “Caged Bird” is credited for helping to increase Black feminist writings throughout the 1970s.
Judy Garland
One of the brightest and most tragic stars have come out of Hollywood’s so-called “Golden Era” was Judy Garland, who Anne Helen Petersen, author of “Scandals of Classic Hollywood: Sex, Deviance and Drama from the Golden Age of American Cinema” one said was “the first public victim of stardom, and certainly not the last.”
Malala Yousafzai
In 2012, Malala Yousafzai, who was only 15 years old, was shot by the Taliban for saying girls should be allowed to pursue an education in Palestine and publicly championing this matter.
Once she recovered from her near-fatal injuries, Malala went on to become the youngest person ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize Winner for continuing to speak out about the importance of education for all.
G.D. Anderson
G.D. Anderson (whose full name is Geena Dunne Anderson) is an Australian writer and feminist who founded The Cova Project , an Aussie charity “dedicated to providing benevolent relief to girls and women of reproductive age across the world who are experiencing poverty, suffering, distress and disadvantage due to lack of financial resources and access to basic necessities.”
