35 Fearless Instagram Captions For International Women’s Day

Women have shattered glass ceilings and pushed the world to be a better, more inclusive place for generations. Their tireless efforts have brought about immense joy and change, threaded throughout moments of deep hardship, discrimination, and rejection. That’s why ensuring they continue to be recognized— on International Women’s Day and beyond— and elevating the voices of iconic women who've fought is so important.

Women throughout history, including Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and education activist Malala Yousafzai, have taken on the challenges of the world, written their own stories, and lifted up other women in the process. In the 1996 Supreme Court case United States v. Virginia, Ginsburg wrote the majority opinion after the court deemed the Virginia Military Institute's all-male admissions policy to be unconstitutional. This paved the way for more women to train for and join the military. In December 2014, Yousafzai won the Nobel Peace Prize after establishing the Malala Fund, advocating for girls' education. These moments set an example for future generations of young girls and women eager to leave their mark.

Sharing any of the below inspirational quotes from famous women on your Instagram feed is one way you can pay your respects and keep their work alive. Whether you're shouting out women in your circle, paying your respects to your heroes, or simply acknowledging yourself, posting these messages is a great way to celebrate International Women’s Day.

1. “There is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it, if only we’re brave enough to be it.” — Amanda Gorman, “The Hill We Climb”

2. “If we don’t do the work, no one will ever witness it.” — Angela Davis, Vanity Fair

3. “I have learned not to allow rejection to move me.” — Cicely Tyson, Elle

4. “You can’t have true strength without vulnerability." — Regina King, The New York Times

5. “You can make so much difference with so little." — Diane von Furstenberg, Vogue

6. “Optimism is the fuel driving every fight I’ve been in.” — Vice President Kamala Harris, Elle

7. “The future of life as we know it is being determined by everything we’re doing — and not doing. Now.” — Oprah Winfrey, O Magazine, February 2019

8. “People who are truly strong lift others up. People who are truly powerful bring others together.” — Michelle Obama, 2016 speech in Manchester, New Hampshire

9. “Be passionate and move forward with gusto every single hour of every single day until you reach your goal.” — Ava DuVernay, “My Mic Sounds Nice”

10. “There is power in speaking your dreams into existence.” — Elaine Welteroth, More Than Enough

11. “Fight for the things that you care about, but do it in a way that will lead others to join you.” — Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Harvard Radcliffe Institute luncheon

12. “Let us make our future now, and let us make today's dreams tomorrow’s reality.” — Malala Yousafzai, 2013 award acceptance speech at Harvard University

13. “You can't be hesitant about who you are.” — Viola Davis, Playbill

14. “If you are able to look yourself in the mirror every day with the decisions that you make, that's where power starts.” — Selena Gomez, Seventeen

15. “If you want something done, do it yourself. Sometimes you don’t know you can do it, but you do it anyway!” — Reese Witherspoon, Vogue

16. “The most alluring thing a woman can have is confidence.” — Beyoncé

17. “I’ve always felt my best when I felt liberated from things that were holding me back." — Kate Hudson, Women's Health

18. “Don't become too narrow. Live fully. Meet all kinds of people. You'll learn something from everyone. Follow what you feel in your heart.” — Yuri Kochiyama, Global Citizen

19. “It takes a belief, it takes a determination, and it takes hard work.” — Megan Rapinoe, NPR

20. “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” — Jane Goodall, Global Citizen

21. “I’m not here to be perfect and I’m not here to be anything but my best, whatever that means for me.” — Jennifer Lopez, Hola! magazine

22. “Never stop believing that fighting for what's right is worth it.” — Hillary Clinton, concession speech in November 2016

23. “Be bold. If you’re going to make an error, make a doozy, and don’t be afraid to hit the ball.” — Billie Jean King

24. “If you retain nothing else, always remember the most important rule of beauty, which is: who cares?” — Tina Fey, Bossypants

25. “Saying ‘yes’ doesn’t mean I don’t know how to say no, and saying ‘please’ doesn’t mean I am waiting for permission.” — Amy Poehler, Yes Please

26. "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, HuffPost

27. “A woman with a voice is, by definition, a strong woman.” — Melinda Gates, Powerful Voices speech

28. “I am not free while any woman is unfree, even if her shackles are very different from my own.” — Audre Lorde, The Uses of Anger

29. “Feminism is for everybody.” — bell hooks, Feminism is For Everybody

30. “There is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of the mind.” — Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own

31. “A lot of what feminism is about is moving outside of roles and moving outside of expectations of who and what you’re supposed to be to live a more authentic life.” — Laverne Cox, Here We Are: Feminism for the Real World

32. “Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women.” — Maya Angelou

33. “You deserve to be here. You deserve to exist. You deserve to take up space in this world of men.” — Mackenzi Lee, The Lady’s Guide To Petticoats and Piracy

34. “Women, we endure those cuts in so many ways that we don’t even notice we’re cut. We are living with small tiny cuts, and we are bleeding every single day. And we’re still getting up.” — Michelle Obama, Women’s Foundation of Colorado’s 30th anniversary event

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