5 Empoweing TED Talks for women

5 TED Talks that will change the way you view women

Amanda Lim

23 Sep 2015

updated the 6 October 2015 à 22:28

1/5
Dame Stephanie Shirley: Why do ambitious women have flat heads?
Funny and heartfelt, Dame Stephanie “Steve” Shirley shares her entire life story, from escaping Nazi Germany to setting up her own software company that was run by women in the 1960s. Shirley inspires not only with her success, but also her strength and resolve. She had to endure a mother’s heartbreak, the death of her only son, Giles. Even then, she continues soldiering on, “I have learned to live without him, and I have learned to live without his need of me. Philanthropy is all that I do now.”
2/5
Sheryl Sanberg: Why we have too few women leaders
With over 5.5 million views, the Facebook COO has one of the best and most popular talks on TED. This famous TED Talk discusses the prevalence of gender inequality at the top levels of business and its reasons may surprise you. What makes this TED Talk so memorable are the personal stories and encounters Sanberg generously shares, even at her expense. The talk also sparked her Lean In movement, which encourages women to be ambitious in their careers.
3/5
Leymah Gbowee: Unlock the intelligence, passion and greatness of girls
This one’s a tearjerker, don’t say we didn’t warn you. Nobel laureate Leymah Gbowee is a powerhouse who was responsible for putting Liberian’s first female president in office. As part of her TED Talk, she tells the stories of African girls who dream of education and a better life. Instead they fall prey to poverty and sexual assault. In her strong opening she shares the two regrets she’s had, two girls, both whom she failed to save from war because she was too poor. Although it is hard to listen to, her underlying message of hope resonates through her speech.
4/5
Sakena Yacoobi: How I stopped the Taliban from shutting down my school
In this TED Talk, Sakena Yacoobi shares the ballsy tale of standing up to Taliban men who threatened to close her school. Born in a middle class family in Afghanistan, she was able to travel to America to pursue her education. Although she found success as a professor, Yacoobi yearned to return to her homeland. When she finally returned, she set up an underground school to educate women in a place where girls were banned from education. Today, she is an executive director of the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL) which she founded in 1995.
5/5
Khalida Brohi: How I protect women from honour killings
Khalida Brohi straddled two worlds, the modern world of education and the rural ways of her tribe. Though she was taught to respect her culture, she could not come to terms with their treatment of women. At 16, Brohi found out that a friend of hers was murdered in the name of honour. This spurred her to start a campaign to bring light to the issues. Her amazing effort to empower women in Pakistan led to the founding of Sughar Empowerment Society, where she advocates women’s rights through embroidery.

Dame Stephanie Shirley: Why do ambitious women have flat heads?

We’ve shortlisted brilliant TED Talks every woman should watch to feel confident and empowered.

Female speakers of TED are easily the most inspiring, and the number of them just keeps growing. From entrepreneurs to nonprofit leaders, these women all have words of wisdom to pass on. If you need a reminder that being a woman is awesome, there’s nothing like a good TED Talk to make you feel like a superstar.

Women have come a long way since past struggles and discriminations, but we are still thought of as the weaker sex. Not just by men, but by other women too. Yes, being a woman can be difficult, it’s a cliché but it is true. These five women featured here have equally faced or even more struggles, but they have achieved greatness nonetheless.

TED is a nonprofit organisation that began in 1984 as a conference for technology, entertainment and design. Today, most of us know TED for bringing together speakers of diverse backgrounds to give short (18 minutes or less) potent speeches about their work, ideas and personal experiences.

Here are five TED Talks by women and for women that are 18 minutes away from inspiring and empowering you.

Amanda Lim

Photos: Ted.com

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