What makes a strong female role model?
A role model can be anyone. It can be your sister bravely following her dreams, a friend who lifts you up, or someone who is simply confident in who she is.
Naturally, everyone’s definition of a strong female role model is different. However, in light of history when women have been silenced, it is important to create space for women’s voices.

The Importance of Female Role Models

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With the majority of history textbooks still primarily showcasing men, it is vital to provide girls with strong female role models they can identify with.
Studies have shown that having a female role model to aspire to can have positive effects on a girl’s mindset. For instance, the Draw-A-Scientist test found that overall, 55% of girls of all ages drew a man when asked to draw a scientist. Interestingly, there is a large difference between childhood and adolescence. While at age 6, 70% of girls drew a female scientist, by age 16, only 25% of the scientists drawn are women. Arguably, this flip might be due to the lack of strong female role models in school curriculums.

Even though female representation has steadily increased, girls are evidently still not presented with enough female role models. With 50% of the human population identifying as women, it should come naturally that women deserve to be equally represented in all aspects of life.
Yet this prevalent lack of female representation influences girls’ perception of who can be a scientist, a politician, and more.
Surrounding girls with positive images of women making a positive change in the world sends the message that there are no limits to their opportunities — regardless of gender. 

10 Inspirational and Strong Female Role Models

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There are millions of strong women that we should look up to out there – including our moms, aunts, and grandmas.
Strong female role models come in all shapes and sizes. Role models can be activists, feminists, writers, actresses, models, or the girl next door.
These, however, are just some of the women that come to mind when thinking of strong role models: 

1. Malala Yousafzai 

Malala Yousafzai — globally known as the girl whose female education advocacy led to an assassination attempt when riding home on a bus in 2012. 

Now a recent Oxford University graduate and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Malala Yousafzai grew up in Pakistan’s Swat Valley. When the terrorist Taliban militants started taking over northwest Pakistan, 11-year-old Malala started writing a blog for the BBC. 

In her blog, Malala recorded life during The First Battle of Swat. She spoke out on the ban the Taliban had placed on girl’s education and advocated for equal rights. 

Now a target for the Taliban, Malala survived an assassination attempt three years later. In 2014, her advocacy and fight for equality was recognized with the Nobel Peace Prize, as the youngest ever recipient. 

2. Maya Angelou

A survivor of sexual and domestic violence, Maya Angelou was an American poet and civil rights activist. Before moving to New York in 1959 to concentrate on writing, Angelou worked as a sex worker, dancer, and cook. 

Recorded in her autobiographical works, Maya Angelou encountered several defeats in life but showed resilience and ever-enduring strength. Speaking out on racism and abuse, Maya Angelou inspired and continues to inspire millions of women around the globe.

“Pick up the battle and make it a better world. Just where you are.” – Maya Angelou

3. Laura Dekker

At the age of 16, Laura Dekker became the youngest person to sail solo around the world. Starting out in Gibraltar in August of 2010, Laura Dekker arrived on Sint Maarten island 518 days later. 

Her journey was not easy: she was faced with several legal battles, storms, and dangerous reefs along the way. But, Dekker persevered and still inspires the world with her strength and courage.

4. Tina Turner

Tina Turner is globally known as one of the most successful singers of all time, but she is also a survivor of domestic violence. 

After a 14-year long and violent marriage with Ike Turner, Tina made the courageous decision to leave her husband after a bloody fight while on tour. Because she fled in the middle of the tour, she was faced with having to repay the cancellation fees. With only 36 cents to her name, Tina Turner struggled to take care of her four children. 

Cleaning rooms and living off government assistance, Tina Turner showed incredible strength and perseverance – her courage and hard work made her who she is today.

5. Marci Bowers

Marci Bowers is considered a pioneer in the field of gender confirmation surgery. Bowers was also the first US surgeon to offer free clitoral restoration surgery to survivors of FGM (female genital mutilation). A transgender woman herself, Bowers advocates for trans-rights and is considered an icon among the trans-community.

6. Alexandra David-Néel

An explorer and writer, Alexandra David-Néel wrote more than thirty books on Eastern religion, philosophy, and her travels. Her global fame however stems from her being the first European woman to visit Lhasa in Tibet. 

David-Néel traveled around Europe on her own at the age of 18, spent 14 years traveling Asia, and, aged 100, still renewed her passport. Seemingly compressing several lifetimes into one, she is an inspiration to all women out there.

7. Dita Von Teese

Credited with re-popularizing burlesque dancing, Dita Von Teese is a professional dancer, model, and actress. 

Struggling with body confidence while growing up, Van Teese couldn’t identify with any of the models shown in adverts and on TV. Now serving as a body-confident role model herself, Van Teese incorporates performers of all body shapes and ages into her shows. This diversity is inspiring and showcases that there is no one recipe for beauty. 

8. Billie Jean King

Billie Jean King is most famously known for winning a tennis match against Bobby Riggs. This win was not just that, but it was a milestone on the road to gender equality. King played and fought for equal rights and gender equality. Her win against chauvinist and misogynist Riggs elicited a change in tennis and in the global world.

Following King’s match, the US Open became the first tennis tournament offering equal prize money to both men and women.

9. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

Described as ‘Africa’s Iron Lady’, Johnson Sirleaf became the first female African head of state in 2006, serving as President of Liberia. 

Having previously been exiled to Kenya and wrongfully imprisoned, she had to fight hard to assume her power 14 years ago. Not only did she secure foreign investment and entirely erase Liberia’s debt, but she also functions as a role model to girls and women in Liberia and around the world.

10. Jacinda Ardern

Advocating for gender equality, Jacinda Ardern serves as New Zealand’s current prime minister, and as a role model of female leadership. Focusing on empathy, open communication, and collaboration, Ardern balances self-awareness and authenticity. 

Combining family and career, Jacinda Ardern was only the second world leader to give birth while in office. 

Jacinda Ardern: a strong world leader serving as a role model for women worldwide.

How to Be a Role Model

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A strong female role model doesn’t have to be an activist or a politician: she can be your mom, your best friend, or your neighbor — or she can be you.
Stand up for equality, be accepting and tolerant — lift girls and women up.
We need to amplify the voices of disabled women, of LGBTQIA+ women, BAME women, and of all other women who are still being marginalized.

Starting right where you are, try to make the world a better place: help someone today, be the support your friend needs, encourage and educate others, be ready to listen and learn, volunteer your time. 

Written by Samira Rauner, blogger at Safe Harbor International Ministries. For more articles, visit our blog page at https://safeharborim.com/articles/.