--- title: Inspirational Quotes on Being a Woman description: Turn a one-day event into everyday inspiration canonical: https://time.com/4250072/international-womens-day-quotes/ author: Megan Lasher article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-03-08T13:00:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:39:19.113Z og:title: Sheryl Sandberg, Shonda Rhimes and Other Amazing Women on What It Means To Be A Woman og:description: In honor of International Women's Day og:url: https://time.com/4250072/international-womens-day-quotes/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt492efe360632b3ec/69888a06a988ca2afe6b6e06/quote-womens-day.png?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: quote-womens-day og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Sheryl Sandberg, Shonda Rhimes and Other Amazing Women on What It Means To Be A Woman twitter:description: In honor of International Women's Day twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt492efe360632b3ec/69888a06a988ca2afe6b6e06/quote-womens-day.png?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Sheryl Sandberg, Shonda Rhimes and Other Amazing Women on What It Means To Be A Woman by [Megan Lasher](https://time.com/author/megan-lasher/) ## Megan Lasher Mar 8, 2016 1:00 PM UTC  by [Megan Lasher](https://time.com/author/megan-lasher/) ## Megan Lasher Mar 8, 2016 1:00 PM UTC International Women’s Day has been celebrated [since 1909](http://womenwatch.unwomen.org/international-womens-day-history), when the Socialist Party of America dedicated a day to women protesting against working conditions in the garment-making industry. Since then, it’s become a worldwide tradition to acknowledge and applaud all women every March 8. Motto is all about [celebrating women](http://motto.time.com/4239165/womens-history-month-quiz/?iid=sr-link1), so we’ve picked a handful of stand-out statements from women that focus on what womanhood really means. Whether you’re reading this on your commute, in between classes or before school carpool pickup, we hope they inspire and empower you in all aspects of life. “Some women choose to follow men, and some women choose to follow their dreams. If you’re wondering which way to go, remember that your career will never wake up and tell you that it doesn’t love you anymore.” _—Lady Gaga_  “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_ “For what is done or learned by one class of women becomes, by virtue of their common womanhood, the property of all women.” _—Elizabeth Blackwell_ “A woman is the full circle. Within her is the ability to create, nurture and transform.” _—Diane Mariechild_  “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 will threaten the man.’ Because I am female, I am expected to aspire to marriage. I am expected to make my life choices, always keeping in mind that marriage is the most important. Now, marriage can be a source of joy and love and mutual support. But why do we teach girls to aspire to marriage and we don’t teach boys the same?” _—Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie_ “The best protection any woman can have … is courage.” _—Elizabeth Cady Stanton_  “I am a trans woman. My sisters are trans women. We are not secrets. We are not shameful. We are worthy of respect, desire and love. As there are many kinds of women, there are many kinds of men, and many men desire many kinds of women, trans women are amongst these women. And let’s be clear: Trans women are women.” _—Janet Mock_ “A woman with a voice is, by definition, a strong woman.” _—Melinda Gates_ Inspirational Quotes on Being a Woman ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4250072/international-womens-day-quotes/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4250072/international-womens-day-quotes/"},"headline":"Sheryl Sandberg, Shonda Rhimes and Other Amazing Women on What It Means To Be A Woman","datePublished":"2016-03-08T13:00:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:39:19.113Z","description":"In honor of International Women's Day","url":"https://time.com/4250072/international-womens-day-quotes/","keywords":["motto","inspiration","Quotes","Career & Workplace","motto instagram"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt492efe360632b3ec/69888a06a988ca2afe6b6e06/quote-womens-day.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Megan Lasher","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/megan-lasher/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt492efe360632b3ec/69888a06a988ca2afe6b6e06/quote-womens-day.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"quote-womens-day","caption":"","creditText":"","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4250072/international-womens-day-quotes/","name":"Sheryl Sandberg, Shonda Rhimes and Other Amazing Women on What It Means To Be A Woman"}}]}] ```