The annual holiday has roots in the American Women’s Suffrage Movement and is now celebrated by individuals, organizations and nations around the world.

This year’s theme is “Equal access to education, training, science and technology: Pathway to decent work for women.”

Here are some quotes to savor on International Women’s Day.

NANCY PELOSI
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.

MELINDA GATES
A woman with a voice is by definition a strong woman. But the search to find that voice can be remarkably difficult.

ARIANNA HUFFINGTON
Women still have an uneasy relationship with power and the traits necessary to be a leader. There is this internalized fear that if we are really powerful, we are going to be considered ruthless or pushy or strident–al those epithets that strike right at our femininity. We are still working at trying to overcome the fear that power and womanliness are mutually exclusive.

ELEANOR ROOSEVELT
Nobody can make you feel inferior without your permission.

LORETTA YOUNG
A charming woman doesn’t follow the crowd.

HARRIET BEECHER STOWE
Women are the real architects of society.