Gloria Steinem
Pioneering Women
Born in Ohio, she was the granddaughter of a well-known suffragist. Her father sold antiques from their mobile home in winter and ran a beach resort in summer.
Her parents divorced when she was 10, and she helped care for her mother, who was mentally ill. She went to Smith College and studied government, graduating in 1956.
On a fellowship to India, she developed an interest in Gandhi and grassroots activism. Back in Boston she earned the first Doctorate of Human Justice awarded by Simmons College.
She began her career as a freelance journalist in New York. Inevitably, her assignments were lifestyle or fashion pieces for “women’s pages” in the 1950s and 1960s.
When I suggested political stories to The New York Times Sunday Magazine, my editor just said something like, ‘I don’t think of you that way.’
In 1968 she cofounded New York magazine. She covered political campaigns and social issues—including the women’s movement. She began speaking at protests.
Magazines like Ladies Home Journal only focused on housekeeping. So she cofounded Ms. for the women’s movement in 1971. She was an editor and contributor for the next 15 years—and remains involved.
As a freelance writer she has published many articles and several books. She has received numerous awards for journalism and activism, as well as multiple honorary degrees.
She was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1993. President Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor.
She coproduced a documentary on child abuse for HBO, a film about the death penalty for Lifetime, and a documentary series on violence against women for VICE. She is the subject of multiple TV documentaries.
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In her prolific career she cofounded multiple women’s organizations, including the National Women’s Political Caucus in 1971, Ms. Foundation for Women in 1973 (one of the first and largest women’s funds in the country), and Women’s Media Center in 2004.
She has dedicated her life to women’s rights—leading marches and touring widely as a public speaker.