Gloria Steinem, trailblazing figure in women’s liberation movement, dies at age 92

Gloria Steinem, a co-founder of Ms. Magazine and a trailblazing figure of the women’s liberation movement in the latter half of the 20th century, has died. She was 92. 

The Gloria Steinem Foundation said in a social media post Thursday that she “passed away peacefully at her home in New York City, surrounded by some of the many who loved her.” The cause of death is not yet known. 

Heralded by Newsweek magazine in 1971 as “The New Woman,” Steinem co-founded Ms. Magazine, the first major publication to be owned, run and written by women. Ms. was a spearhead for the promotion of equal rights, helping to raise awareness about issues of inclusion, media representation and social justice affecting women and girls, at a time when politics, mass media and consumerism were becoming conflated as never before. As a journalist, Steinem exploded the notions that “women’s issues” were confined to women, or that female voices did not belong in discussions of politics or war. 

Steinem was a tireless advocate for women’s voices in politics – at the ballot box, and in the halls of power – by fighting for voting rights, and promoting female candidates for office. She advanced the cause of economic and social justice for women and girls, including reproductive freedom and safety from domestic violence, and worked to advance women in media. And a simple idea, Take Our Daughters to Work Day, begun by the Ms. Foundation for Women to advance opportunities in the workplace, would become a global endeavor encompassing millions of daughters (and sons) as it fought gender stereotypes.

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