I've got a woman's ability to stick to a job and get on with it

Margaret Thatcher, the Iron Lady whose resolve carved her name into the chronicles of power, once proclaimed: “I’ve got a woman’s ability to stick to a job and get on with it when everyone else walks off and leaves it.” In these words is revealed the timeless strength of perseverance, drawn not from position nor privilege, but from the enduring spirit often born in the hearts of women. It is the power to endure, to finish what is begun, and to stand unyielding when others falter.

The ancients themselves revered this virtue. They told of Penelope, who wove and un-wove her tapestry with unbreakable patience, and of countless mothers, queens, and laborers whose quiet endurance outlasted the storms of men. The ability to stick to a job is not merely diligence, but a sacred devotion: to refuse surrender even when left alone, to continue the work because the work itself must be done.

Thatcher’s words are also a declaration of courage against abandonment. When everyone else walks off, when the crowd disperses and the weak retreat, the one who remains is transformed into more than worker—into guardian, builder, and leader. This is the heroic spirit that sustains civilizations: the refusal to yield when the burden grows heavy.

Her emphasis on a woman’s ability is both a tribute and a challenge. It honors the centuries of unseen labor, of perseverance unpraised, where women held households, communities, and futures together while others abandoned their posts. And it challenges all who hear it—man or woman—to recognize that true strength lies not in glory or acclaim, but in endurance, in the steadfast will to finish what was begun.

Let the generations remember: it is easy to start, but greatness belongs to those who endure until the end. When others leave the task unfinished, be the one who remains. When the road is long and lonely, press forward still. For in the words of Thatcher, to stick to a job is not simply to complete a task, but to embody the eternal strength that carries both individuals and nations through their darkest hours.