In honor of International Women's Day on March 8, we've compiled commentary from some of the most inspiring women driving change for gender equality. Connect: Professional Women's Network is online community with more than 425,000 members that discusses issues relevant to women and their success. The free LinkedIn group powered by Citi also features videos interviews with influential businesswomen, live Q&As with experts and slideshows with career advice. To learn more and join the conversation in the largest women's group on LinkedIn, visit http://www.linkedin.com/womenconnect.

1. BROUGHT TO YOU BY
WOMEN
CHANGING
THE COURSE
OF HISTORY

2. In honor of International
Women’s Day on March 8,
here are some of the most
inspiring female voices today.

3. “What my mother
meant when she said
'you can’t eat beauty' was
that you can’t
rely on how you look to
sustain you. What
does sustain us,
what is fundamentally
beautiful, is compassion
for yourself and for
those around you.”
LUPITA NYONG’O, Actress

4. “It is time that we all see gender as a spectrum instead
of two sets of opposing ideals.”
EMMA WATSON, Actress, UN Women Goodwill Ambassador

5. “We cannot all
succeed when half of
us are held back. We
call upon our sisters
around the world to
be brave, to embrace
the strength within
themselves and realize
their full potential.”
- MALALA YOUSAFZAI,
activist, Nobel Prize
laureate

6. “Leave out the
women, and you
don’t have a full
and robust
economy. Lead
with the women,
and you do.”
MARIA SHRIVER, Journalist

7. “You've got to be a problem solver. You can either sit around and talk
about all the reasons you can't do something; how, Gee, I've got a new
baby at home and I've got a toddler and I've got all these other
responsibilities, so I'll put it off … or you can just say, 'How am I going to
solve that problem?’”ELIZABETH WARREN, US Senator, Massachusetts

8. “Don't get all tangled up
inside your head. ‘Am I
coming across too pushy?
Do I have to be sweeter
and nicer?’ Authenticity is
very important in life, not
just at work. You can say I
paid a price for my own
authenticity. I was who
I am. I tried not to be
too blunt or hurtful
to people.”
JILL ABRAMSON, Journalist,
former NYT Executive Editor

9. “As women, we
must learn to
capitalize on our
differences—we
bring a new and
unique perspective
to the infamous
boardroom table--
a perspective that
is much needed.”
PADMASREE WARRIOR,
Chief Technology
Strategy Officer Cisco

10. “After a while, I not only convinced myself I could do this, I
actually convinced myself no one could do it better. The longer it
was available, the more I convinced myself that’s because they
were waiting for me.” MICHELLE ROBERTS, Executive Director NBA

11. “Making it through the
glass ceiling to the
other side was simply a
matter of running on a
path created by every
other woman’s
footprints.”
SHONDA RHIMES,
screenwriter, producer

12. “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, Actress

13. “I got tired of beating
myself up for not
speaking up when often
I had a good idea or not
pushing my way in when
I had something to
contribute. Each small
step forward, each small
victory became a
micro-deposit in the
confidence bank.”
BETH COMSTOCK,
Senior VP, COO GE

14. “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, Author

15. “You can't be what you
can't see, so if women
and girls are not seeing
images of powerful
women and girls who
are leaders, then they
may not aspire to
become that.”
SHERYL SANDBERG,
COO of Facebook

16. ©2015 LinkedIn Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION!
LinkedIn and Citi’s Connect: Professional Women’s
Network is an online community with more than 425,000
members that helps women achieve the careers they want
and discuss issues relevant to their success. Visit
linkedin.com/womenconnect for more information and
to join the group for free!
PHOTO CREDITS/GETTY IMAGES:
1: Getty Images News
3: Frazer Harrison
5: Robin Marchant
6: WireImage
10: The Washington Post
11: Todd Wawrychuk
12: Larry Busacca

17. CONNECT: PROFESSIONAL WOMEN’S NETWORK©2014 LinkedIn Corporation. All Rights Reserved. 17