Gloria Steinem, the American journalist and leading figure in the second-wave feminist movement, has died aged 92 at her home in New York City.
Her death on Wednesday, September 2, was announced by her official Instagram account. A statement said she had “passed away peacefully” surrounded by people who loved her. No cause of death was given.
Steinem became one of the most recognisable voices of the women’s liberation movement during the late 1960s and 1970s, campaigning on reproductive rights, sexual equality and the dismantling of patriarchal institutions.
She also helped bring feminist ideas into mainstream journalism. In 1972, she co-founded Ms. magazine, whose preview issue sold out in eight days and went on to become one of the most influential feminist publications in the United States.
Through her writing and activism, Steinem challenged the idea that women’s concerns were separate from politics, economics and social justice. She wrote for publications including New York Magazine, Esquire, The New York Times and Cosmopolitan, while helping to establish organisations that supported women’s political participation and equality.
Barack Obama awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013, describing her contribution to the women’s liberation movement. She was also recognised internationally for her work on gender equality and human rights.
The announcement said Steinem had continued working for equality until the end of her life and had spent her later years writing and gathering people together at her Manhattan home.
That home, where she had lived since 1967, is intended to become a permanent centre for feminist organising and social justice work through Gloria’s Foundation. The foundation says it will preserve her archives and develop programmes for activists and campaigners.
Tributes paid to Gloria Steinem
Hillary Clinton said Steinem had “pushed open doors not just for herself, but for literally millions of women behind her”. She described her as an optimist whose activism was rooted in a daily moral choice to believe change was possible.
Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, paid tribute to Steinem as a friend and mentor, recalling their public work encouraging young voters as well as private conversations over tea and family gatherings.
Oprah Winfrey said Steinem had left the world “with more freedom than she inherited” and with a duty to continue widening that freedom for future generations.
Steinem was born in Toledo, Ohio, on March 25, 1934. Her forthcoming memoir, An Unexpected Life, is due to be published posthumously on September 22.
The book reflects on her early life and the path that led her to activism. In a passage shared after her death, Steinem wrote about the New York home that had witnessed generations of lives and would continue to do so after her own.
