Gloria Steinem didn’t simply become the face of the women’s movement — she helped change the world that women were expected to live in.
The pioneering journalist, author and feminist activist died Wednesday at her home in New York at 92. For more than six decades, Steinem challenged the idea that women should accept second-class status, using her writing, her voice and her activism to demand equality.
She helped bring feminist issues into the mainstream, co-founded Ms. magazine and the National Women’s Political Caucus, fought for reproductive freedom and the Equal Rights Amendment, and advocated for women facing discrimination, violence and inequality. Her activism also extended to civil rights, LGBTQ+ rights, sex-trafficking victims and other social-justice causes.
But perhaps her greatest achievement was inspiring generations of women to believe that their voices mattered.
The tributes pouring in today make clear just how extraordinary her influence was.
Hillary Clinton called Steinem “one of the architects” of women’s equality and an “eternal signal fire,” praising her optimism and lifelong activism. Clinton urged future generations to continue the fight, saying simply: “The fight is worth it.”
Oprah Winfrey reflected on Steinem’s enormous impact, saying that every woman who has demanded equal pay, equal respect, control over her own body and the freedom to pursue her dreams is living, in some measure, inside the progress Steinem helped create .
Nancy Pelosi remembered her as “a fearless trailblazer who transformed the fight for equality in America and inspired generations of women to know their power.”
And Meghan Markle, who considered Steinem a friend and mentor, offered a deeply personal farewell: “Rest in peace, and rest in pride. Look at what you’ve done for all of us. Thank you.”
Steinem herself left behind words that may be her most enduring legacy: “The future depends entirely on what each of us does every day; a movement is only people moving.”
That was Gloria Steinem.
She didn’t wait for the world to change. She helped change it — one article, one speech, one protest, one conversation and one woman at a time.
And for millions who came after her, the path she helped clear will never be the same.
Gloria Steinem’s legacy isn’t finished. It belongs to every woman who walks through a door she once helped open.