Gloria Steinem in Women's Movements
Gloria Steinem (1934–) knew how to push buttons. As a journalist, an activist, and one of the most famous feminists of all time, she worked—and continues to work—tirelessly for women's rights.
Steinem got her first big break as a freelance writer when Esquire magazine commissioned her to do a piece on the birth-control pill. This article, published a year before Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique, helped set the stage for one of the most important social movements in American history, women's liberation.
As the one of the faces of the women's movement, Steinem did something that many feminists, including Friedan, never managed to do: she appealed to the general population. She appeared in the major magazines of the time, spoke at the 1972 Democratic National Convention, and was the first woman ever invited to speak at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
Trust us, it was a very prestigious honor.
She used her broad appeal to affect change. Steinem campaigned for the Equal Rights Amendment, continued to publish massively influential articles, and helped found Ms. magazine (the first magazine to be owned, operated, and written by women). The articles strayed away from the traditional classics, fashion and food, and instead trended toward the political. It was a major step forward.
She also founded the Women's Action Alliance and the National Women's Political Caucus. Have you ever taken your daughter to your job or been the child who gets to see what your parents do all day? Thank Gloria Steinem, who started Take Our Daughters to Work Day.