Gloria Steinem, the pioneering journalist, author and activist whose voice helped define the modern women’s movement, died September 2 at her home in New York City. She was 92. Her foundation said she passed away peacefully surrounded by loved ones. A cause of death has not been announced.
For more than six decades, Steinem was one of the most recognizable and influential advocates for women’s equality. A gifted writer before becoming an internationally known activist, she gained national attention with her groundbreaking 1963 undercover report exposing working conditions at New York’s Playboy Club. She later became a prominent political journalist and helped co-found Ms. Magazine, which became a transformative platform for women’s voices and issues that had long been marginalized by mainstream media.
Steinem also helped establish the National Women’s Political Caucus and numerous organizations devoted to advancing women in politics, media and public life. Her advocacy encompassed reproductive freedom, workplace equality, civil rights and the belief that women should have the power to determine the course of their own lives. In 2013, President Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Yet Steinem’s impact extended far beyond any single organization or political battle. Through her writing, speeches and decades spent traveling and listening to women around the world, she helped make conversations about equality part of the cultural mainstream.
Her work continued nearly until the end of her life, and a new memoir, An Unexpected Life, is scheduled for publication later this month.
Gloria Steinem leaves behind more than a remarkable career. She leaves generations of women—and men—who were encouraged by her example to question inequality, speak up and believe that social change is possible.
