Women still have a long road to achieve true gender equality, but every young girl and every woman’s success depends on it while we live in what is still a man’s world. Today, we’re actually moving backwards in a lot of ways. The good news is strong women will prevail. Female leaders continue to speak out, because more women belong not just at the table but at the head of the table!
How do we do it? By supporting each other! There’s a saying that goes like this, “A rising tide lifts all boats.” When women are working together, we can achieve any goal. Supporting other women allows you to build an emotional connection, live a more authentic life, and gain strength.
Worried about being called a bad feminist if you speak out about women’s rights? Don’t. You’re a great woman. In fact, just about every woman is a great woman in their own way.
The truth is we need to change the narrative about women’s rights, equality, and the strength of women individually and collectively. When every woman stands up and speaks out, we’ll change the way the world perceives that strength, and real change will happen for women.
To help you get inspired and motivated, here are 110 quotes by and about women supporting women from a variety of professions and time periods.
Supportive and Female Empowerment Quotes
“There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish.” – Michelle Obama
“Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world.” – Hillary Clinton
“A woman’s place is in the struggle.” – Assata Shakur
“Women are the real architects of society.” – Harriet Beecher Stowe
“If women want any rights more than they’s got, why don’t they just take them, and not be talking about it.” – Sojourner Truth
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“A woman is like a tea bag – you can’t tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“The best protection any woman can have is courage.” – Elizabeth Cady Stanton
“There is no force more powerful than a woman determined to rise.” – Bosa Sebele
“Women who support other women are confident, generous, visionaries.” – Mariela Dabbah
“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
“The future is female.” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg
“The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.” – Coco Chanel
“I believe that the greatest gift you can give your family and the world is a healthy you.” – Joyce Meyer
“When women work together, it’s a bond unlike any other.” – Victoria Principal
“The empowerment of women is the key to unlocking the potential of a nation.” – Michelle Obama
“Women who support each other grow together.” – Meghan Markle
“We need to reshape our own perception of how we view ourselves. We have to step up as women and take the lead.” – Beyonce
“A woman with a voice is, by definition, a strong woman. But the search to find that voice can be remarkably difficult.” – Melinda Gates
“A woman is unstoppable after she realizes she deserves better.” – Ariana Grande
“Women supporting women is about taking the time to connect and uplift each other.” – Jameela Jamil
“We need to be there for each other, to support each other, no matter what.” – Serena Williams
“Women supporting women is the greatest gift.” – Taraji P. Henson
“Women are the glue that holds communities together.” – Mariela Dabbah
“Women who support other women are confident and generous.” – Meghan Markle
“A woman is the full circle. Within her is the power to create, nurture, and transform.” – Diane Mariechild
“It is time for us to support and empower other women, especially women of color, to rise up and lead.” – Kamala Harris
“Women supporting women is like being a part of a sisterhood.” – Jennifer Aniston
“When women stand together, we can change the world.” – Malala Yousafzai
“The success of every woman should be the inspiration to another. We should raise each other up.” – Serena Williams
“The power of women supporting women is immeasurable.” – Jamie Lee Curtis
“Women who support each other are confident, empowered, and unstoppable.” – Reese Witherspoon
“We need to stop trying to be perfect and start supporting each other.” – Emma Watson
“Women supporting women is the backbone of any successful society.” – Mariela Dabbah
“The only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work hard for them.” – Michelle Obama
“We need to remember we are all in this together.” – Hillary Clinton
“We need to teach our girls that they can reach as high as humanly possible.” – Beyonce
“Women supporting women isn’t about being catty, it’s about lifting each other up.” – Emma Stone
“A woman’s voice is her strongest asset.” – Melinda Gates
“A woman in harmony with her spirit is like a river flowing. She goes where she will without pretense and arrives at her destination prepared to be herself.” – Maya Angelou
“We need to build each other up instead of tearing each other down.” – Michelle Obama
“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
“I raise up my voice—not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard.” – Malala Yousafzai
“I have stood on a mountain of no’s for one yes.” – B. Smith
“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” – Alice Walker
“I’m tough, I’m ambitious, and I know exactly what I want. If that makes me a bitch, okay.” – Madonna
“I am a Woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal Woman, that’s me.” – Maya Angelou
“I am not free while any woman is unfree, even when her shackles are very different from my own.” – Audre Lorde
“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
“A strong woman is a woman determined to do something others are determined not be done.” – Marge Piercy
“You have within you right now, everything you need to deal with whatever the world can throw at you.” – Marie Forleo
“One of the most courageous things you can do is identify yourself, know who you are, what you believe in, and where you want to go.” – Sheila Murray Bethel
“The most important thing one woman can do for another is to illuminate and expand her sense of actual possibilities.” – Adrienne Rich
“I believe that one of the most powerful things we can do for another human being is to simply bear witness to their story.” – Oprah Winfrey
“Women have discovered that they cannot rely on men’s chivalry to give them justice.” – Helen Keller
“I can’t think of any better representation of beauty than someone who is unafraid to be herself.” – Emma Stone
Success Quotes
“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.” – Maya Angelou
“I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning how to sail my ship.” – Louisa May Alcott
“I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took any excuse.” – Florence Nightingale
“The most effective way to do it, is to do it.” – Amelia Earhart
“Success is not about being a one-man show. It’s about having a team of people who believe in you.” – Oprah Winfrey
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal, it’s the courage to continue that counts.” – Julie Andrews
“Success is not how much money you have, but how you positively impact people’s lives.” – Michelle Obama
“Success is not the absence of failure; it’s the persistence through failure.” – Aisha Tyler
“Success is not something you achieve, it’s something you receive when you reach your potential.” – Maxine Waters
“I’m not a businesswoman, I’m a business, woman.” – Beyoncé
“The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” – Coco Chanel
“Success is not about being perfect; it’s about being able to adapt and learn from failure.” – Reshma Saujani
“Success is not about being fearless, it’s about having the courage to face your fears and overcome them.” – Arianna Huffington
“Success is not about how much money you make, but about the difference you make in people’s lives.” – Melinda Gates
“The most successful people are those who are willing to keep learning and growing, even after they’ve achieved their goals.” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg
“Success is not about having all the answers. It’s about being willing to ask the right questions.” – Brene Brown
“Success is not about being perfect. It’s about being able to embrace your imperfections and use them to your advantage.” – Sheryl Sandberg
“Success is not about being lucky. It’s about being prepared, persistent, and willing to take risks.” – Marissa Mayer
“Success is not about being the smartest or the most talented. It’s about being willing to work harder than anyone else.” – Serena Williams
“Success is not about having all the answers. It’s about being willing to learn from others and collaborate to find solutions.” – Indra Nooyi
“Success is not about being comfortable. It’s about being willing to step outside your comfort zone and take on new challenges.” – Angela Duckworth
“Success is not about being born with a silver spoon in your mouth. It’s about making the most of the opportunities you have and working hard to create more.” – Oprah Winfrey
“Success is not about having it all. It’s about knowing what you want and going after it with passion and determination.” – Arianna Huffington
“Success is not about being popular. It’s about being authentic and true to yourself.” – Meg Whitman
“Success is not about being comfortable. It’s about being willing to take risks and embrace uncertainty.” – Ginni Rometty
“Success is not about being lucky. It’s about being prepared, persistent, and willing to work harder than anyone else.” – Mary Barra
Change, Goals, and Achievement Quotes
“I learned to always take on things I’d never done before. Growth and comfort do not coexist.” – Virginia Rometty
“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
“If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.” – Dolly Parton
“If you want to fly, you have to give up the things that weigh you down.” – Toni Morrison
“There are two types of people in this world: those who make things happen and those who watch things happen.” – Mary Kay Ash
“We do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all of the power we need inside ourselves already.” – J.K. Rowling
“I am not a victim. No matter what I have been through, I’m still here. I have a history of victory.” – Oprah Winfrey
“You can’t be that kid standing at the top of the waterslide, overthinking it. You have to go down the chute.” – Tina Fey
“I didn’t get there by wishing for it or hoping for it, but by working for it.” – Estée Lauder
“When we do the best we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another.” – Helen Keller
“I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.” – Rosa Parks
“I never dreamed about success. I worked for it.” – Estée Lauder
“I have been absolutely terrified every moment of my life – and I have never let it keep me from doing a single thing I wanted to do.” – Georgia O’Keeffe
“You can have unbelievable intelligence, you can have connections, you can have opportunities fall out of the sky. But in the end, hard work is the true, enduring characteristic of successful people.” – Marsha Evans
“I was once afraid of people saying ‘Who does she think she is?’ Now I have the courage to stand and say, ‘This is who I am.’” – Oprah Winfrey
“If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not making decisions.” – Catherine Cook
“I believe that one of life’s greatest risks is never daring to risk.” – Oprah Winfrey
“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all, in which case you have failed by default.” – J.K. Rowling
“You are the master of your destiny. You can influence, direct and control your own thoughts, your own body, your own destiny.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” – Maya Angelou
“The difference between successful people and others is how long they spend time feeling sorry for themselves.” – Barbara Corcoran
“It’s not about perfect. It’s about effort. And when you bring that effort every single day, that’s where transformation happens. That’s how change occurs.” – Jillian Michaels
“I’ve come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that’s as unique as a fingerprint – and that the best way to succeed is to discover what you love and then find a way to offer it to others in the form of service, working hard, and also allowing the energy of the universe to lead you.” – Oprah Winfrey
“We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated.” – Maya Angelou
“Never limit yourself because of others’ limited imagination; never limit others because of your own limited imagination.” – Mae Jemison
“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.” – Helen Keller
“Don’t be intimidated by what you don’t know. That can be your greatest strength and ensure that you do things differently from everyone else.” – Sara Blakely
“Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and, above all, confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained.” – Marie Curie
Key Takeaways about Women Supporting Women and More
We’ve come a long way since women earned the right to vote in 1918, but 105 years later, we still have a long way to go.
Women need to support other women – more than perhaps any other group. In fact, every woman’s success and true gender equality depend on it. When women support each other, we can each achieve our own dreams.
Remember, it’s still a man’s world but women belong too. For all the little girls, it’s up to each strong woman to speak up, lean in, stand up – whatever phrase you want to use. This is about more than female empowerment, and it’s not a feminist manifesto. It’s about claiming ownership for the change that needs to happen in the world and taking steps to be the force that makes the change rather than quietly watching from the sidelines.
Your Next Step to Become Part of Women Supporting Women
Ready to become part of something bigger than yourself? Start supporting women every day. Social media is a great place to do it. Share content, recognize women’s successes, build your network and work together. In fact, you can do all of this online and offline!
The first step is to share this post with your own audiences on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, and more. Make a video about how you plan to support women and invite other women to do the same. Post it on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and so on.
Bottom-line, the more women who learn that we should stop seeing each other as competitors and instead, see each other collectively as a group that is stronger in numbers, the sooner real change will happen.
So what are you waiting for? Start sharing!
Susan Gunelius
Susan Gunelius is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Women on Business. She is a 25-year veteran of the marketing field and has authored ten books about marketing, branding, and social media, including the highly popular Ultimate Guide to Email Marketing, 30-Minute Social Media Marketing, Content Marketing for Dummies, Blogging All-in-One for Dummies and Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps. Susan’s marketing-related content can be found on Entrepreneur.com, Forbes.com, MSNBC.com, BusinessWeek.com, and more. Susan is President & CEO of KeySplash Creative, Inc., a marketing communications company. She has worked in corporate marketing roles and through client relationships with AT&T, HSBC, Citibank, Intuit, The New York Times, Cox Communications, and many more large and small companies around the world. Susan also speaks about marketing, branding and social media at events around the world and is frequently interviewed by television, online, radio, and print media organizations about these topics. She holds an MBA in Management and Strategy and a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing and is a Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC).
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