The most valuable insights are not gender-specific. For example, from Oscar Wilde: “Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.” No doubt some are more relevant to women than they are to men. These are among the most widely quoted observations by women about women.

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o “I don’t have a feeling of inferiority. Never had. I’m as good as anybody, but no better.”  Katherine Johnson

o “You can — and should — show more of the reality of yourself instead of hiding behind a mask for fear of revealing too much.”  Betty Friedan

o “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”  Eleanor Roosevelt

o “If you’re always trying to be normal, you will never know how amazing you can be.”  Maya Angelou

o “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

o “I am a person with dignity and self-respect, and I should not set my sights lower than anybody else just because I am black.”   Rosa Parks

o “There’s power in allowing yourself to be known and heard, in owning your unique story, in using your authentic voice.”   Michelle Obama

o “Tremendous amounts of talent are being lost to our society just because that talent wears a skirt.”   Shirley Chisholm

o “A girl should not expect special privileges because of her sex but neither should she adjust to prejudice and discrimination.”   Betty Friedan

o “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

o “The success of every woman should be the inspiration to another. We should raise each other up. Make sure you’re very courageous: be strong, be extremely kind, and above all be humble.”  Serena Williams

o “We need to understand that there is no formula for how women should lead their lives. That is why we must respect the choices that each woman makes for herself and her family. Every woman deserves the chance to realize her God-given potential.”  Hillary Clinton

o “Women should do for themselves what men have already done—occasionally what men have not done—thereby establishing themselves as persons, and perhaps encouraging other women toward greater independence of thought and action.”  Amelia Earhart

o “My mother told me to be a lady. And for her, that meant be your own person, be independent.”  Ruth Bader Ginsberg

o “At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can.”  Frida Kahlo

o “I really think a champion is defined not by their wins but by how they can recover when they fall.”  Serena Williams

o “Always aim high, work hard, and care deeply about what you believe in. And, when you stumble, keep faith. And, when you’re knocked down, get right back up and never listen to anyone who says you can’t or shouldn’t go on.”  Hillary Clinton

o “Have no fear of perfection; you’ll never reach it.”  Marie Curie

o “Change happens by listening and then starting a dialogue with the people who are doing something you don’t believe is right.” Jane Goodall

o “You don’t make progress by standing on the sidelines whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.” Shirley Chisholm

o “Social change is brought about by those who dare and act, who can think unconventionally and who can court unpopularity.” Indira Gandhi

o “We are here, not because we are law-breakers; we are here in our efforts to become law-makers.”  Emmeline Pankhurst

o “Do what you feel in your heart to be right–for you’ll be criticized anyway.”  Eleanor Roosevelt

o “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”  Maya Angelou

o “Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time.”  Ruth Bader Ginsburg

o “We cannot solve a crisis without treating it as a crisis…And if solutions within the system are so impossible to find, then maybe we should change the system itself?”   Greta Thunberg

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Which other observations — by women about women — do you admire? Please share.