09/03/2026
Gloria Steinem is a feminist icon, full stop. Ahead of their annual meeting this year, the Feminist Caucus asked members to identify their top three priorities for the upcoming year. The definitive answers were reproductive rights and bodily autonomy, the passage of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in the United States, and healthcare access, specifically concerning women’s health. These three priorities perfectly reflect the exact issues Gloria Steinem has spent her life fighting for, advocating for, and ultimately changing for the better.
Gloria has fought endlessly for healthcare and reproductive rights, famously leading by example when she shared her own abortion story to destigmatize the procedure. Through Ms. Magazine, she created a platform that highlighted women’s health and autonomy, consistently reporting on the political and policy shifts affecting everyday healthcare. Her journalistic efforts directly fueled her advocacy for the ERA — an amendment that, shockingly, has still not been passed.
Throughout her career, Steinem has highlighted one common denominator: how localized or individual struggles connect to a much broader systemic fight. For example, healthcare access isn't just an abstract policy issue; it directly mirrors modern crises like the current struggle of rural healthcare in Minnesota, which impacts readers daily. Similarly, bodily autonomy spans a vast spectrum — from ensuring abortion access to banning conversion therapy designed to target LGBTQ+ individuals. Gloria Steinem was not one to shy away from helping and advocating for others, seamlessly including broader causes, including disability rights.
To Gloria Steinem, a feminist icon who made the impossible possible through her fierce persistence, her refusal to be silenced, and her courage to be vulnerable when it mattered most. May we honor her legacy by staying kind to one another, listening deeply to diverse stories, and taking meaningful action to better our communities.
