Gloria Steinem passed away at the age of 92 on September 2nd, 2026. Her death was announced by her foundation on Instagram saying she “passed away peacefully at her home in New York City, surrounded by some of the many who loved her.” “Gloria’s greatest gift was her ability to listen to others, to make others feel seen and heard,” the posts said. “Her words, actions, and example gave people permission to be their truest selves. Gloria lived true to her independent spirit, always with curiosity and a great sense of humor.”
Steinem was one of the biggest icons in the U.S. women’s movement. She co-founded the Women’s Action Alliance. In 1971, she founded Ms. Magazine and wrote and edited many magazines, spreading awareness about issues of abortion and equal rights. She raised awareness of women’s representation in media, inclusion, and social justice for women. She was one of the first people to speak in favor of legalizing abortion in 1969, and she coined the term “Reproductive Freedom” in 1972, popularizing it as a freedom women deserve regarding abortions.
She advanced ideas of economic and social justice for women, spoke up about reproductive freedom, and advocated for safety from domestic violence. She came up with the idea of “Take Our Daughters to Work Day” to give women opportunities in the workplace and worked to make it a global endeavor for millions of daughters fighting gender stereotypes.
Former president Barack Obama awarded Steinem the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013 and said ““As a writer, a speaker, an activist, she awakened a vast and often skeptical public to problems like domestic violence, the lack of affordable child care, unfair hiring practices. And because of her work, across America and around the world, more women are afforded the respect and opportunities that they deserve. But she also changed how women thought about themselves.”
In 2022, a few weeks before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, ending the constitutional right to abortion, she commented, “It will not change the basic fact that we either have decision-making power over our own bodies — women and men — or there is no democracy.”
Steinem felt that true change happened over time, like a tree. As she further commented, “‘Too often we think the tree grows from the top, from Congress. Trees grow from the bottom,’ she said, adding that what mattered most was the work being done by everyday people and communities.”
