Banquet Address 2011

Gloria Steinem
Writer, editor, and international organizer for social justice
 

Gloria Steinem, arguably the most recognizable face of the international women’s movement, has had a lasting impact on women’s rights in the workplace. A feminist icon, she has made a lifelong career of writing and organizing around social and political causes. She is particularly interested in gender roles, race caste systems and child abuse as roots of violence; nonviolent conflict resolution; the plight of indigenous peoples; and international organizing for justice and peace.

After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Smith College in 1956, Steinem spent two years on a Chester Bowles Fellowship in India. She wrote for Indian publications and was influenced by Gandhian activism.

In 1972, she co-founded Ms. Magazine, and remained one of its editors for fifteen years. She helped to found the National Women's Political Caucus; Choice USA; the Women’s Action Alliance; and the Ms. Foundation for Women, where she was instrumental in establishing its “Take Our Daughters to Work Day.”

A prolific writer, Steinem is the author of the best-selling Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions, Moving Beyond Words, Revolution from Within: A Book of Self-Esteem, and Marilyn: Norma Jean, a book on the life of Marilyn Monroe. Her writing has appeared in numerous anthologies and textbooks.

She has produced and narrated an Emmy award-winning documentary about child abuse, co-produced a feature film on the death penalty, and co-founded the Women's Media Center, an organization that works to amplify the voices of women in the media through advocacy and leadership training.

Named one of the 25 most influential women in America by Biography Magazine, Steinem has earned numerous honors for her writing and work on social justice. She was induced into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1993.

She now lives in New York City, and is currently at work on Road to the Heart: America As if Everyone Mattered, a book about her more than thirty years on the road as a feminist organizer.