I think this world needs more female leaders, and you may ask, why? Research says female leaders typically demonstrate greater compassion and empathy. These qualities allow women to read situations more accurately and take information in from all sides. Not only that, female leaders can be more assertive and persuasive.
Historically, women have not been encouraged to take on leadership roles. In 2015, only 23 Fortune 500 Companies were led by women. There’s still room for improvement and barriers to break before we see an even number of female led businesses.
But gender equality is not some faraway dream, every business from restaurants to corporations and even food trucks must do their part to help move qualified females into leadership roles. It’s time for women to rise up. Whether you want more female employees to apply for management level positions inside your business or share inspiring messages on social media you can use these empowering leadership quotes for women.
- Leadership Quotes by Women
- Feminist Leadership Quotes
- Female CEO Quotes
- Famous Female Leaders in History Quotes
- Female Business Leader Quotes
- Captions for Women Leaders
- Gender and Leadership Quotes
More women need to pursue leadership roles.
Leadership Quotes by Women
“Leadership is not a person or a position. It is a complex moral relationship between people based on trust, obligation, commitment, emotion, and a shared vision of the good.” — Joanne Ciulla (Author and Educator)
“Ninety percent of leadership is the ability to communicate something people want.” — Dianne Feinstein (Senior United States Senator)
“Leadership should be more participative than directive, more enabling than performing.” — Mary D. Poole (Author)
“Part of leadership is knowing when to go ahead with a decision that’s within your authority because you’re really convinced it’s the right thing, even if other people don’t understand it at that point.” — Dr. Ingrid Mattson (Professor, Huron University College)
“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” — Muriel Strode (Poet)
“No one else is going to build the life you want for you. No one else will even be able to completely understand it. The most amazing souls will show up to cheer you along the way, but this is your game. Make a pact to be in it with yourself for the long haul, as your own supportive friend at every step along the way.” — Tara Mohr (Leadership Coach and Author)
Related Reading: 223 Personal Leadership Quotes for the Young and Old
“Leadership that brings peace is far more courageous than the one which opens fire and goes for war.” — Asthma Jehangir (Pakistani Human Rights Activist and Attorney)
“One of the criticisms I’ve faced over the years is that I’m not aggressive enough or assertive enough or maybe somehow, because I’m empathetic, it means I’m weak. I totally rebel against that. I refuse to believe that you cannot be both compassionate and strong.” — Jacinda Ardern (Prime Minister of New Zealand)
A woman taking the lead.
Feminist Leadership Quotes
“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 (American Politician)
“If you want to run for Prime Minister, you can.” If you don’t, that’s wonderful, too. Shave your armpits, don’t shave them, wear flats one day, heels the next. These things are so irrelevant and surface to what it is all really about, and I wish people wouldn’t get caught up in that. We want to empower women to do exactly what they want, to be true to themselves, to have the opportunities to develop.” — Emma Watson (Actor and Activist)
“Around the world there are countless examples of women rising, taking leadership, taking their destiny into their own hands, inspiring all of us. But women and girls are still the majority of the victims of war. They are over half of all refugees, and the vast majority of the victims of rape and other sexual and gender-based violence.” — Angelina Jolie (American Actress, Filmmaker, and Humanitarian)
“When there are no ceilings, the sky’s the limit. So let’s keep going—let’s keep going until every one of the 161 million women and girls across America has the opportunity she deserves to have.” — Hillary Clinton (American Politician)
“I want every little girl who’s been told she’s bossy to be told again she has leadership skills.” — Sheryl Sandberg (COO, Facebook)
“Feminism, when it truly achieves its goals, will crack through the most basic structures of our society.” ― Shulamith Firestone (Canadian-American radical feminist, Writer, and Activist)
“In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders.” — Sheryl Sandberg (American Business Executive, Billionaire and Philanthropist)
“Womanpower means the self-determination of women, and that means all the baggage of paternalistic society will have to be thrown overboard.” ― Germaine Greer (Australian Writer and Public Intellectual)
“Feminism isn’t about making women stronger. Women are already strong, it’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength.” ― G.D. Anderson (Australian Feminist Writer)
“A feminist is anyone who recognizes the equality and full humanity of women and men.” — Gloria Steinem (American Feminist Journalist and Social Political Activist)