Women are changing the world with their words.
If someone devalues their experiences, these women look them in the eye and say, “Listen to me.” If others say they can’t spark change, they say, “Watch me.”
Because WordsFresh is a woman-owned agency, we always admire a woman who uses her voice. This International Women’s Day, we’d like to express gratitude for the next generation of powerful young women who wield their words for good.
Amanda Gorman
After becoming the first-ever National Youth Laureate, Amanda Gorman went on to capture the attention of the nation. She performed her original poem “The Hill We Climb” at the 2021 Presidential Inauguration to great acclaim.
It inspired many to celebrate how far we’ve come as a country, while recognizing the long road we still have ahead of us. She reminds us,
“There is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.”
Read her words: Call Us What We Carry, 2021 collection of poetry
Greta Thunberg
Greta took a stand at 15 years old. She planned school walk-outs to protest the climate crisis and inspired others in her generation to raise their voices together. Her actions attracted criticism from some, but ultimately gave her a larger platform: a seat at the United Nations.
In her impassioned speech to the UN in 2019, Greta told world leaders two and three times her age how backwards it was that she was the one to spark change.
“This is all wrong. I shouldn’t be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you?”
She repeated her now-infamous phrase ‘How dare you?’ throughout the speech to drive her point home.
“Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are at the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you?”
Read her words: No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference, 2019 collection of speeches
Malala Yousafzai
For those who know her story, the name Malala is synonymous with activism for equal education. When the Taliban took control of her village in Swat Valley, Pakistan, and banned girls from attending school, she spoke up.
Malala’s words brought her more than just criticism. At 15, she was shot in the head at point-blank range on her way home from school. After a miraculous recovery, she continued her advocacy for girls’ rights to education and was ultimately nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Like Greta, Malala was also invited to the UN to speak. In her speech, she told them,
“The terrorists thought that they would change our aims and stop our ambitions but nothing changed in my life except this: Weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage was born.”
Read her words: I Am Malala, 2014 Memoir
Historical trailblazers
Of course, we can’t celebrate contemporary female speakers and authors without acknowledging the revolutionary women who paved the way for them.
Here are just a few of our favorites, in their own words:
- Coretta Scott King: A prominent writer and leader in the civil rights movement. Wife of Martin Luther King, Jr. She once said, “The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate action of its members.”
Notable works: My Life, My Love, My Legacy and My Life with Martin Luther King, Jr. - Charlotte Perkins Gilman: Well-known for illustrating the effects of detrimental gender roles and medical practices in the late 1800s. She once wrote, “This is the woman’s century, the first chance for the mother of the world to rise to her full place…”
Notable works: “The Yellow Wallpaper” and Unpunished - Virginia Woolf: An acclaimed English writer, known for her feminist novels and essays in the 20th century. She once wrote, “Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.”
Notable works: “A Room of One’s Own” and To the Lighthouse
Whether your tastes are more classic or contemporary, there’s no shortage of inspiration from female writers, speakers and leaders. Today, let’s appreciate those who came before us, celebrate our continued progress and look forward to the change makers of tomorrow.
May we know them, may we be them, may we raise them.
Women are changing the world with their words.
If someone devalues their experiences, these women look them in the eye and say, “Listen to me.” If others say they can’t spark change, they say, “Watch me.”
Because WordsFresh is a woman-owned agency, we always admire a woman who uses her voice. This International Women’s Day, we’d like to express gratitude for the next generation of powerful young women who wield their words for good.
Amanda Gorman
After becoming the first-ever National Youth Laureate, Amanda Gorman went on to capture the attention of the nation. She performed her original poem “The Hill We Climb” at the 2021 Presidential Inauguration to great acclaim.
It inspired many to celebrate how far we’ve come as a country, while recognizing the long road we still have ahead of us. She reminds us,
“There is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.”
Read her words: Call Us What We Carry, 2021 collection of poetry
Greta Thunberg
Greta took a stand at 15 years old. She planned school walk-outs to protest the climate crisis and inspired others in her generation to raise their voices together. Her actions attracted criticism from some, but ultimately gave her a larger platform: a seat at the United Nations.
In her impassioned speech to the UN in 2019, Greta told world leaders two and three times her age how backwards it was that she was the one to spark change.
“This is all wrong. I shouldn’t be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you?”
She repeated her now-infamous phrase ‘How dare you?’ throughout the speech to drive her point home.
“Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are at the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you?”
Read her words: No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference, 2019 collection of speeches
Malala Yousafzai
For those who know her story, the name Malala is synonymous with activism for equal education. When the Taliban took control of her village in Swat Valley, Pakistan, and banned girls from attending school, she spoke up.
Malala’s words brought her more than just criticism. At 15, she was shot in the head at point-blank range on her way home from school. After a miraculous recovery, she continued her advocacy for girls’ rights to education and was ultimately nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Like Greta, Malala was also invited to the UN to speak. In her speech, she told them,
“The terrorists thought that they would change our aims and stop our ambitions but nothing changed in my life except this: Weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage was born.”
Read her words: I Am Malala, 2014 Memoir
Historical trailblazers
Of course, we can’t celebrate contemporary female speakers and authors without acknowledging the revolutionary women who paved the way for them.
Here are just a few of our favorites, in their own words:
- Coretta Scott King: A prominent writer and leader in the civil rights movement. Wife of Martin Luther King, Jr. She once said, “The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate action of its members.”
Notable works: My Life, My Love, My Legacy and My Life with Martin Luther King, Jr. - Charlotte Perkins Gilman: Well-known for illustrating the effects of detrimental gender roles and medical practices in the late 1800s. She once wrote, “This is the woman’s century, the first chance for the mother of the world to rise to her full place…”
Notable works: “The Yellow Wallpaper” and Unpunished - Virginia Woolf: An acclaimed English writer, known for her feminist novels and essays in the 20th century. She once wrote, “Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.”
Notable works: “A Room of One’s Own” and To the Lighthouse
Whether your tastes are more classic or contemporary, there’s no shortage of inspiration from female writers, speakers and leaders. Today, let’s appreciate those who came before us, celebrate our continued progress and look forward to the change makers of tomorrow.
May we know them, may we be them, may we raise them.
