138 Female Leaders Quotes

Following is our list of female leaders quotations and slogans full of insightful wisdom and perspective about woman leader.

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Famous Female Leaders Quotes

Women in leadership roles can help restore balance and wholeness to our communities. — Wilma Mankiller

In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders. — Sheryl Sandberg

We want women leaders today as never before. Leaders who are not afraid to be called names and who are willing to go out and fight. I think women can save civilization. Women are persons. — Emily Murphy

Women have broken through the glass ceiling, and they're now more and more in the power seats. — Aretha Franklin

Women have the capacity to lead us to a more peaceful world with compassion, affection, and kindness. — Dalai Lama

Women have plenty of roles in which they can serve with distinction: some of us even run countries. But generally we are better at wielding the handbag than the bayonet. — Margaret Thatcher

Black women are going to have to take more leadership. I think we are prepared because we bring a tenaciousness with us. We do not fear losing friends, allies, or jobs. — Maxine Waters

Woman is superlative; the best leader in life, the best guide in happy days, the best consoler in sorrow. — Johann Gottfried Seume

If we took away barriers to women's leadership, we would solve the climate change problem a lot faster — Mary Robinson

Women are no longer victims. They have become leaders. They are at the forefront of the demonstrations. We will share a role in all aspects of life, side by side with men. — Tawakkol Karman

Part of the reason images of women in positions of authority are marked by their gender is that the very notion of authority is associated with maleness. — Deborah Tannen

Only one man in a thousand is a leader of men--the other 999 follow women. - Groucho Marx

Only one man in a thousand is a leader of men--the other 999 follow women. — Groucho Marx

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

We still think of a powerful man as a born leader and a powerful woman as an anomaly. — Margaret Atwood

It is the women who are the leaders in change and without their participation poverty can never be removed. — Ela Bhatt

Women Leadership Quotes

I'm no longer accepting the things I cannot change...I'm changing the things I cannot accept. — Angela Davis

My own definition of leadership is this: The capacity and the will to rally men and women to a common purpose and the character which inspires confidence. — Bernard Law Montgomery

I have often been asked whether I am a women or an athlete. The question is absurd. Men are not asked that. I am an athlete. I am a women. — Billie Jean King

Female leaders quote A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compas
A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others.

We're not going to have the America that we want until we elect leaders who are going to tell the truth - not most days, but every day. — Ann Richards

It is not power that corrupts but fear. - Aung San Suu Kyi

It is not power that corrupts but fear. — Aung San Suu Kyi

Women speaking up for themselves and for those around them is the strongest force we have to change the world. — Melinda Gates

Female leaders quote Be a leader by example. Be confident and humble. Love the unloved.
Be a leader by example. Be confident and humble. Love the unloved.

One of the problems in the biotech world is the lack of women in leadership roles, and I'd like to see that change by walking the walk. — Jennifer Doudna

Leadership is a series of behaviors rather than a role for heroes. - Margaret J. Wheatley

Leadership is a series of behaviors rather than a role for heroes. — Margaret J. Wheatley

You are indebted to life until you help some less fortunate person, just as you were helped. — Melinda Gates

I would rather regret the things that I have done than the things that I have not. — Lucille Ball

Woman Leader Quotes

...there is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women. — Kofi Annan

For Star Trek proves, as faulty as individual episodes could be, is that the much-maligned common man and common woman has an enormous hunger for brotherhood. They are ready for the twenty-third century now, and they are light-years ahead of their petty governments and their visionless leaders. — Gene Roddenberry

One of the most important things for any leader is to never let anyone else define who you are. And you define who you are. I never think of myself as being a woman CEO of this company. I think of myself as a steward of a great institution. — Ginni Rometty

Female leaders quote The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sa
The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails.

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

To handle yourself, use your head; to handle others, use your heart. — Eleanor Roosevelt

As a woman leader, I thought I brought a different kind of leadership. I was interested in women's issues, in bringing down the population growth rate... as a woman, I entered politics with an additional dimension - that of a mother. — Benazir Bhutto

Female leaders quote Leaders don't force people to follow. They invite others on a journey.
Leaders don't force people to follow. They invite others on a journey.

Feminism's agenda is basic: It asks that women not be forced to 'choose' between public justice and private happiness. — Susan Faludi

I think women can save civilization. — Emily Murphy

If your actions create a legacy that inspires others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, then, you are an excellent leader. — Dolly Parton

The difference between successful people and others is how long they spend time feeling sorry for themselves. — Barbara Corcoran

Female Role Models Quotes

You know, I've never believed, in anything, that you had to have role models who looked like you to do something. If I'd been waiting for a black, female, soviet specialist role model, I'd be still waiting. — Condoleezza Rice

I know the first female astronauts selected were definitely an inspiration to me, and so maybe I will be a role model. — Peggy Whitson

Female success stories from sporting events like the Olympic Games have played a role in shifting the Indian perception to see the female athlete as a hero and a role model for young Indian girls. — Richard Attias

Female leaders quote A real leader faces the music, even when he doesn't like the tune.
A real leader faces the music, even when he doesn't like the tune.

Yes. I was the first female colonel. I enjoyed being that kind of role model for young women watching the show. A woman can be a colonel! A woman can be in charge! Those were new ideas then. — Erin Gray

I had female role models to look up to starting in middle school, athletes like Julie Foudy and Mia Hamm who made me realize that there was room in the world of sports for women. They ignited my dream of becoming an Olympic athlete. — Jennie Finch

At first, being a female role model really terrified me. But it hasn't turned out to be an awful burden. I get a lot of letters from women who tell me that, after watching Xena, they have bought the Harley-Davidson they always wanted or left an abusive relationship. — Lucy Lawless

Female leaders quote He who cannot be a good follower cannot be a good leader.
He who cannot be a good follower cannot be a good leader.

Miranda Lambert! She not only has amazing music, but she is an awesome role model for females and rescues lots of animals! — Miranda Lambert

There's no shortage of female role models. They're everywhere - in history, in literature, in the news. Just look around. — Keri Russell

I realize now how lucky I was, in the total absence of role models, to have only men to rebel against. Today's women students are meeting their oppressors in dangerously seductive new form, as successful congenial female professors who view themselves as victims of a rigid foreign ideology. — Camille Paglia

When you've played Buffy - who's such a strong female role model - it's really hard for another female character to compare to her. — Sarah Michelle Gellar

Powerful Women Quotes

It doesn't matter how strong your opinions are. If you don't use your power for positive change, you are, indeed, part of the problem. — Coretta Scott King

There are two powers in the world; one is the sword and the other is the pen. There is a great competition and rivalry between the two. There is a third power stronger than both, that of the women. — Muhammad Ali Jinnah

In my view, all that is necessary for faith is the belief that by doing our best we shall succeed in our aims: the improvement of mankind. — Rosalind Franklin

Female leaders quote Successful leaders understand that true power comes not from exercising control, but from empowering
Successful leaders understand that true power comes not from exercising control, but from empowering others.

You must make women count as much as men; you must have an equal standard of morals; and the only way to enforce that is through giving women political power so that you can get that equal moral standard registered in the laws of the country. It is the only way. — Emmeline Pankhurst

I would like to be known as an intelligent woman, a courageous woman, a loving woman, a woman who teaches by being. — Maya Angelou

I am convinced that the women of the world, united without any regard for national or racial dimensions, can become a most powerful force for international peace and brotherhood. — Coretta Scott King

Female leaders quote A leader is someone who demonstrates what's possible.
A leader is someone who demonstrates what's possible.

Humans are allergic to change. They love to say, 'We've always done it this way.' I try to fight that. That's why I have a clock on my wall that runs counter-clockwise. — Grace Hopper

In my world, a woman was the most powerful thing that I knew. Still is. A woman made the money in my house; a woman made my food. A woman beat my ass when I wasn't a good kid. Women were behind a lot of what spurred South Africa toward democracy. — Trevor Noah

As long as women are using class or race power to dominate other women, feminist sisterhood cannot be fully realized. — Bell Hooks

It irritates me to be told how things have always been done. I defy the tyranny of precedent. I cannot afford the luxury of a closed mind. — Clara Barton

Female President Quotes

I would even go to Washington, which is saying something for me, just to glimpse Jane Q. Public, being sworn in as the first female president of the United States, while her husband holds the Bible and wears a silly pill box hat and matching coat. — Anna Quindlen

A Romney presidency will be awesome unless you're poor, sick, gay, female, Mexican or a dog. — Andy Borowitz

Over the last few years, the Islamic world has produced more female presidents and prime ministers than both Europe and North America combined. — Reza Aslan

Female leaders quote Leaders aren't born. They are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work.
Leaders aren't born. They are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work.

Title IX is huge for sports but also its helped move our nation to a place where we can accept women in the workforce as well. Its opened up a lot of jobs for women. We had a female run for president in Hillary Clinton. — Sayings

If you ask me, I'd like to become the first female president. That would be really cool. The first thing I would do is redecorate the White House, it doesn't look very cozy. — Jennifer Lopez

When one is required to preside over the Church, and be entrusted with the care of so many souls, the whole female sex must retire before the magnitude of the task, and the majority of men also. — John Chrysostom

Female leaders quote Victims love entertainment. Leaders love education.
Victims love entertainment. Leaders love education.

We've never had a female President in this country, which I find stunning — Hari Kondabolu

I can hear President Snow's voice in my head. 'On the seventy-fifth anniversary, as a reminder to the rebels that even the strongest among them cannot overcome the power of the capital, the male and female tributes will be reaped from their existing pool of victors. — Suzanne Collins

We shouldn't deny and sort of ignore that we also have the first female candidate who has really shown that a woman could run for President and do so and be very viable. Remember, this race is very close. It reflects the fact that we have two excellent candidates. — Maria Echaveste

Take [the first female] president away from Hillary [Clinton], what's her story? What is fascinating? What's interesting about Hillary? Coughing fits? The lump in her throat that she has to cover with the Mao jacket? What's her story? — Rush Limbaugh

Female Empowerment Quotes

The best protection any woman can have... is courage. — Elizabeth Cady Stanton

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

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

Just don't give up trying to do what you really want to do. - Ella Fitzgerald

Just don't give up trying to do what you really want to do. — Ella Fitzgerald

Part of me has always resisted the Western clichéd image of Muslim women, depicting them as nothing more than silent victims. My art, without denying 'repression,' is a testimony to unspoken female power and the continuing protest in Islamic culture. — Shirin Neshat

We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back. — Malala Yousafzai

Female leaders quote Victims love entertainment, leaders love education.
Victims love entertainment, leaders love education.

My best successes came on the heels of failures. — Barbara Corcoran

I raise up my voice-not so I can shout but so that those without a voice can be heard...we cannot succeed when half of us are held back. — Malala Yousafzai

I always wanted to be a femme fatale. Even when I was a young girl, I never really wanted to be a girl. I wanted to be a woman. — Diane von Furstenberg

I can't think of any better representation of beauty than someone who is unafraid to be herself. — Emma Stone

Powerful Female Quotes

I learned to always take on things I'd never done before. Growth and comfort do not coexist. — Ginni Rometty

When you look fear in the face, you are able to say to yourself, 'I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.' — Eleanor Roosevelt

Don't be afraid to speak up for yourself. Keep fighting for your dreams! - Gabby Douglas

Don't be afraid to speak up for yourself. Keep fighting for your dreams! — Gabby Douglas

You are more powerful than you know; you are beautiful just as you are. — Melissa Etheridge

If, Sir, I possessed the power of conveying unlimited sexual attraction through the potency of my voice, I would not be reduced to accepting a miserable pittance from the BBC for interviewing a faded female in a damp basement. — Gilbert Harding

The simplest and most basic meaning of the symbol of the Goddess is the acknowledgment of the legitimacy of female power as a beneficent and independent power. — Carol P. Christ

For me the goddess is the female of God, She is powerful if different. — Tina Turner

If any female feels she need anything beyond herself to legitimate and validate her existence, she is already giving away her power to be self-defining, her agency. — Bell Hooks

Growth and comfort do not coexist. — Ginni Rometty

About 10,000 years ago, males and females were acting equitably and were treating one another as equals, and then males took over the power, because they have physical power and physical strength. — Jane Elliott

Strong Powerful Women Quotes

I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves. - Mary Wollstonecraft

I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves. — Mary Wollstonecraft

It was we, the people; not we, the white male citizens; nor yet we, the male citizens; but we, the whole people, who formed the Union.... Men, their rights and nothing more; women, their rights and nothing less — Susan B. Anthony

A woman with a voice is by definition a strong woman. But the search to find that voice can be remarkably difficult. — Melinda Gates

I think women are very powerful and I think we're more powerful together than separated. — Zendaya

You can waste your lives drawing lines. Or you can live your life crossing them. — Shonda Rhimes

Courage is like a muscle. We strengthen it by use. — Ruth Gordon

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

Even the most powerful woman needs a place to unwind. — Barbara Taylor Bradford

It's difficult to exist as a woman, especially I think as a powerful woman. You want to stand strong and you want to be considered and equal. — Misty Copeland

Remember our heritage is our power; we can know ourselves and our capacities by seeing that other women have been strong. — Judy Chicago

Female Power Quotes

About 10,000 years ago, males and females were acting equitably and were treating one another as equals, and then males took over the power, because they have physical power and physical strength. — Jane Elliot

Masculinity cannot exist without femininity. On its own, masculinity has no meaning, because it is but one half of a set of power relations. Masculinity pertains to male dominance as femininity pertains to female subordination. — Sheila Jeffreys

It's possible to climb to the top without stomping on other people. — Taylor Swift

You are more powerful than you think. — Tim Cook

Weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage was born. — Malala Yousafzai

A perfect writer would make words sing, dance, kiss, do the male and female act, bear children, weep, bleed, rage, stab, steal, fire cannon, steer ships, sack cities, charge with cavalry or infantry, or do anything that man or woman or the natural powers can do. — Walt Whitman

Testosterone is a sex hormone, and I think it is the most social of hormones. The major social effect of testosterone is to orient us toward issues of sex and power. By the end of puberty testosterone levels in males are 8 to 10 times higher than in females, but decrease with age. — James McBride

Don't be intimidated by what you don't know. — Sara Blakely

Ensure that you do things differently from everyone else — Sara Blakely

Brain power improves by brain use, just as our bodily strength grows with exercise. And there is no doubt that a large proportion of the female population, from school days to late middle age, now have very complicated lives indeed. — A. N. Wilson

Empowering Female Quotes

Never limit yourself because of others' limited imagination; never limit others because of your own limited imagination. — Mae Jemison

I guess from my perspective being a female athlete as well, there’s probably not a huge amount of female athlete books out there. — Ellyse Perry

I've come to believe that each of us has a personal calling that's as unique as a fingerprint — Oprah Winfrey

Whatever you do, be different. If you're different, you will stand out. — Anita Roddick

A feminist is anyone who recognizes the equality and full humanity of women and men. — Gloria Steinem

Most companies target women as end users, but few are effectively utilizing female employees when it comes to innovating for female consumers. When women are empowered in the design and innovation process, the likelihood of success in the marketplace improves by 144%! — Indra Nooyi

I want to live darkly and richly in my femaleness. — Anais Nin

The best way to succeed is to discover what you love and find a way to offer it to others. — Oprah Winfrey

I wish we had more female writers. Most of the female characters you see in films today are ‘the poor heartbroken girl.’ That’s why I’m so proud of the Fast movies. I feel like Giselle is an empowering woman. — Gal Gadot

Women have always been the strong ones of the world. — Coco Chanel

People Writing About Female Leaders

Name Quotes Likes
Read quotes by Sheryl Sandberg

Sheryl Sandberg
quotes on leadership, equality and success

204 879
Read quotes by Wilma Mankiller

Wilma Mankiller
quotes on education, life and government

36 1045
Read quotes by Emily Murphy

Emily Murphy
quotes on education, life and love

11 415
Read quotes by Aretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin
quotes on music, love

145 753
Read quotes by Dalai Lama

Dalai Lama
quotes on life, love and kindness

1464 21491
Read quotes by Margaret Thatcher

Margaret Thatcher
quotes on leadership, welfare and education

490 3658

More Female Leaders Quotes

If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough. — Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

Whether there are innately female leadership styles... is not really the right question. It is more important to ask why there has been so little attention paid to women leaders over the years as well as why the styles of leading more often exhibited by women are particularly useful at this critical moment in history. — Charlotte Bunch

Trying to do it all and expecting that it all can be done exactly right is a recipe for disappointment. Perfection is the enemy. — Sheryl Sandberg

To be able to be caught up into the world of thought-that is educated. — Edith Hamilton

It is very hard to be a female leader. While it is assumed that any man, no matter how tough, has a soft side... and female leader is assumed to be one-dimensional. — Billie Jean King

I believe we're entering a new era, where dynamic female leaders will have an opportunity to bring greater harmony and peace to the planet. — Mary Pope Osborne

Everyone needs to get more comfortable with female leaders-including female leaders themselves. — Sheryl Sandberg

No wonder male religious leaders so often say that humans were born in sin—because we were born to female creatures. Only by obeying the rules of the patriarchy can we be reborn through men. No wonder priests and ministers in skirts sprinkle imitation birth fluid over our heads, give us new names, and promise rebirth into everlasting life. — Gloria Steinem

I think the must-have power qualities for a female or male power leader are really the ability to focus, to work hard, to be extremely goal oriented and to not let the noise and the nonsense interfere with your mission - what you really feel you want to do with your career and your life. — Anne Sweeney

When I created Buffy, I wanted to create a female icon, but I also wanted to be very careful to surround her with men that not only have no problem with the idea of a female leader, but were in fact engaged and even attracted to the idea. — Joss Whedon

The GOP grows more and more unpopular with female voters seemingly every time one of its leaders gets in front of a microphone. Misogynist is as misogynist does. The GOP and its bloviating pundits don't like women and they are unable to hide it, nor do they seem to make much attempt to do so. — Henry Rollins

There have been so many nations around the world that have had female leaders, including India. — Priyanka Chopra

I'm happy to always be included in the list of women. I'd like to be in the sections about female leaders and male leaders. Why not? — Jill Soloway

There's a ton of academic literature that shows people are much more critical of female leaders than they are of male leaders. They're much less tolerant of female ambition, much more threatened by female power. — Peter Beinart

There's over 100 species of lemurs. Each is a little bit different in their social structure except for one thing: they are all female dominant. The females are the leaders. They are the ones that call the shots. When you watch a group, you can see the females are the first one to say “We’re going to move.” Then she moves off and everybody just follows. — Patricia Wright

Female leaders are more oriented toward real and long-lasting results of their policies. — Dalia Grybauskaite

There are many examples of female leaders who are not afraid to take responsibility and openly face the challenges in the worst situations. — Dalia Grybauskaite

We do not have many women leaders in the world. But if you look at the current examples, most of those few female leaders that we have today lead their countries under the pressure of difficult political and economic circumstances. They all posses strong personalities and have real political influence on the domestic and international scene. — Dalia Grybauskaite

Families and societies are small and large versions of one another. Both are made up of people who have to work together, whose destinies are tied up with one another. Each features the components of a relationship: leaders perform roles relative to the led, the young to the old, and male to female; and each is involved with the process of decision-making, use of authority, and the seeking of common goals. — Virginia Satir

So many other countries have had female leaders, in fact the U.S. ranks 61st in female representation in government and I think it is startling and sign of a change that needs to be made. — Geena Davis

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