Gloria Steinem dies at 92

Gloria Steinem, the iconic feminist leader who reshaped the fight for women’s rights in America and beyond, has died at 92. She passed away on Monday at her home in New York City, according to a statement from her family. Steinem spent more than six decades as an organizer, writer, and speaker, helping turn the women’s liberation movement from scattered protests into a durable social force that reshaped laws, workplaces, and culture.

Steinem’s rise to national prominence came in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when she co-founded *Ms.* magazine, the first mainstream publication to center women’s voices and issues. Her 1972 article, “Wonder Woman,” became a cultural touchstone, framing feminism not as a threat but as a liberation movement for all. Steinem also helped found the National Women’s Political Caucus and pushed for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, which, despite falling short, shifted public attitudes. By the 1990s, she was a global voice for gender justice, working with groups like Equality Now and advocating for reproductive freedom, ending violence against women, and closing economic gaps.

Friends and activists described Steinem as sharp, generous, and unshakably hopeful. “She believed in the power of conversation to change the world,” said feminist scholar and organizer Cathi Hanauer. Steinem’s memoir, *My Life on the Road*, published in 2015, sold over half a million copies and introduced her philosophy to a new generation: feminism was a daily practice, not a one-time protest. Even in her final years, she continued touring, speaking, and mentoring younger activists, often via video calls from her Upper West Side apartment.

Now, Steinem’s death leaves a visible absence in the movement she helped build. Younger feminists say her legacy lives on in campaigns for paid leave, equal pay, and bodily autonomy. “Gloria didn’t just fight for women—she fought for all who are marginalized,” said Alicia Garza, co-founder of the Black Lives Matter Global Network. Her family has requested that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Ms. Foundation for Women or the Feminist Majority Foundation. Steinem once said, “Women may be the one group that grows more radical with age.” Her life proved it true.