Quotes & Sayings About Female Leadership

In the mainstream of evangelicalism, where female senior pastors were often unwelcome, most leaders and laypeople had adopted the conservative Reformed view of gender and had forgotten (or never knew of) women's leadership in the moral crusades of the nineteenth century, or even their prominence as Bible teachers, relief workers, and missionaries prior to the 1930s. — Molly Worthen

I'll tell you ... why Wonder Woman worked. Or Bionic Woman. Or any of those [shows] really. It was because it wasn't about brawn ... it was about brains. And yes, she happened to be beautiful, she happened to be kind of extraordinary in some way, but she wasn't a guy. And I think that, [now], they ... put out a female hero, and all they are doing is changing the costume from a man to a woman ... they're not showcasing any of the tremendous dichotomies than women possess in term of softness and toughness, sweetness and grit, inner and outer strength. — Lynda Carter

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

As women's leadership qualities come to play a more dominant role in the public sphere, their particular aptitudes for long-term negotiating, analytic listening, and creating an ambiance in which people work with zest and spirit will help reconcile the split between the ideals of being efficient and being humane. This integration of female values is already producing a more collaborative kind of leadership, and changing the very ideal of what strong leadership actually is. — Sally Helgesen

Great men know how to control two things; their women and money. — Habeeb Akande

I would love to play Nefertiti or Cleopatra or the Queen of Sheba. We preserve more male history than we do female. We have to preserve [female history]. No more complaining. We have to do it. — Zoe Saldana

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

2. God commanded both male and female to have dominion (v. 27). Both men and women have been given the ability and authority to lead. Leadership is not gender specific. — John C. Maxwell

The male-dominated systems know they cannot maintain their current power structures if and when the woman is restored to her natural and powerful state as a great leader and co-creator. — Bryant McGill

All our lives are enriched by the leadership and excellence and confidence of female athletes, whether the Mia Hamms and Maya Moores we know or the field hockey, lacrosse and track and field athletes we do not necessarily know. — George Vecsey

I've been a medical and public health professional as well as a mother. I became skilled at juggling a number of priorities and competing interests. Like many other female leaders, I've tried to serve as a role model for the young women at my organization who are trying to balance a high-level leadership position and a family. — Margaret Hamburg

Men of all ages must commit to changing the leadership ratios. They can start by actively seeking out qualified female candidates to hire and promote. And if qualified candidates cannot be found, then we need to invest in more recruiting, mentoring, and sponsoring so women can get the necessary experience. — Sheryl Sandberg

What is assertive in a man can appear abrasive in a woman, and female leaders risk appearing too feminine or not feminine enough. — Barbara Kellerman

You don't learn how to say 'hey, I have a problem,' but you also don't learn how to hear it. There's a total breakdown of how females talk to one another. It's very disconcerting for leadership because it means you don't talk to each other; you talk about each other. — Rachel Simmons

Anytime you're going to take your Marines into harm's way, they are looking for leadership that is calm, assertive, sure of themselves. And quite honestly, I don't think that some of these young Marines care if it's a male or a female. They just want to be properly led. — Loretta Reynolds

The female view that one strengthens oneself by strengthening others is finding greater acceptance, and female values of inclusion and connection are emerging as valuable leadership qualities. — Sally Helgesen

Why wouldn't female Marines come forward? Because they don't trust us. They don't trust the command. They don't trust the leadership. — James F. Amos

I'm glad that this team has a woman for a leader," Onoria finally said. Regina didn't quite know how to reply. "I'm fed up with men in charge not knowing what they're talking about." Onoria turned towards Regina. "Aren't you?"
"I don't like people in charge that don't know what they're doing, male or female," Regina said. — Alex Avrio

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

Aspiring female leaders risk being liked but not respected, or respected but not liked, in settings that may require individuals to be both in order to succeed. — Barbara Kellerman