Commemorating and celebrating Gloria Steinem: The life and legacy of a feminist trailblazer

The world has lost an extraordinary champion for equality, and Equality Now has lost a beloved friend, mentor and member of our global family.

Gloria Steinem, the pioneering writer, feminist organiser and political activist, passed away at her New York City home on September 2, 2026, at age 92. For more than half a century, she helped shine a light on women’s rights and gave a voice to generations of women’s beliefs around what was possible for themselves and for each other. 

For Equality Now, Gloria’s loss is deeply personal. Our organisation was founded in her home and she stood alongside us from our earliest days, sharing her voice, wisdom, time and encouragement with extraordinary generosity. She was curious about women around the world, shaped especially by her formative years in India post-college.

“Gloria believed in the beauty of shared power. She used her own powerful voice to make space for millions of women’s voices and generations have stepped into their agency because she did. Her legacy is not only the world she shaped but is embedded in all of us who believe in that vision and continue to strive to achieve it,” said Mona Sinha, Chief Executive Officer of Equality Now.

“The world has lost one of its best, and I have lost someone who has been a north star in my own life. I first met Gloria when I was a student at Smith College but was blessed to come to know the woman behind her words and activism. What stays with me is her unconditional love of her chosen family, her extraordinary generosity of spirit, her infectious laugh and her curiosity and zest for women’s lives. For someone whose voice carried so much influence, Gloria had the remarkable ability to make space for everyone. 

“She listened to everyone who came to her Talking Circles. She genuinely wanted to hear your thoughts, your experiences and what you were excited to learn. She had this amazing ability to make everyone feel that their stories, their voices and their ideas mattered, which they did. While I will miss her enormously, I know she walks beside us in every movement she has inspired, in women who have stood up for change and the friendships she has nurtured. Each one of us feels a little braver because she embodied what courage looks like.”

Gloria Steinem’s enduring support for Equality Now and women’s rights

Gloria’s involvement with Equality Now as an active supporter of its mission spans the organisation’s entire 34-year history. She played an integral role as a founding member of Equality Now’s Advisory Board in 1992, served on the Board of Directors from 2010 to 2016, in addition to being a Trustee of Equality Now’s UK entity between 2005 and 2019.

At the United Nations, Gloria publicly supported Equality Now’s ongoing  Words and Deeds campaign, which for almost three decades has highlighted sex discriminatory laws around the world and called for legal reform.

She stood with us against Big Apple Oriental Tours, a New York company promoting sex tourism in Asia, helping press authorities to act in a campaign that ultimately led to legal action against the company and strengthened the case for tougher anti-trafficking laws. 

For over 50 years, Gloria fought to strengthen legal protections for women and girls in the US by championing the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which would amend the US Constitution to guarantee equal rights under the law, irrespective of sex. In recent years, she worked alongside Equality Now and the ERA Coalition, helping build pressure on the Biden administration to recognise the ERA. President Biden declared the ERA the law of the land in January 2025.

She was also a longstanding co-chair of Equality Now’s annual Make Equality Reality Gala,  helping the organisation to raise much-needed resources to protect and promote the rights of women and girls globally. In recognition of her tireless work to make equality a reality for everyone, Equality Now honoured Gloria for her lifelong commitment at the 2014 Make Equality Reality Gala. 

A remarkable life

Born on March 25, 1934, Gloria’s life was a testament to her unwavering commitment to advancing gender equality and in the power of people coming together to create change.

In the 1960s, she made her mark as a journalist covering women’s rights and other social issues. She went on to become one of the most influential figures in the Women’s Liberation Movement, addressing issues ranging from workplace equality to sexual and reproductive rights. 

In 1971, she co-founded the National Women’s Political Caucus (NWPC), helping create a powerful new platform for women’s political participation. The following year, she co-founded Ms. Magazine,  transforming how women’s lives and rights were represented and discussed in American media.  Throughout her career, Gloria received numerous awards and honours for her critical work advancing women’s rights, including the first Doctorate of Human Justice awarded by Simmons College, the Smith College medal, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour presented by President Barack Obama in 2013. 

She was instrumental in founding several other organisations, including the Women’s Media Center, Choice USA (now URGE), and Voters for Choice (which later merged with the Planned Parenthood Action Fund). She served as the founding president of the Ms. Foundation for Women, playing a key role in establishing Take Our Daughters to Work Day. Again and again, Gloria used her influence not simply to amplify her own voice but to create platforms from which others could share their stories. 

At Equality Now, we were extraordinarily fortunate to have Gloria beside us for our entire 34 year history. She even added her comments into our latest Strategic Plan which we launched this March. We will miss her wisdom, her humour, her curiosity, her friendship and the unmistakable warmth of her presence.

We will honour her in the way she taught us: by continuing the work, by listening to one another and lifting up the next generation. We will share our power so that all women and girls have equal rights and an opportunity to thrive. 

Thank you Gloria for showing us not only how to be a hopeaholic but to bring others along with us and carry your legacy forward.