Feminist activist Gloria Steinem, a trailblazer and one of the most prominent voices in the U.S. women’s movement, has died, her foundation announced in a statement posted on social media on Thursday. She was 92.“Yesterday, Gloria Steinem passed away peacefully at her home in New York City, surrounded by some of the many who loved her. Gloria’s near-century on earth were years well-lived, and she continued working for equality until the very end,” the statement reads.“In lieu of flowers, Gloria has asked that those wishing to honor her with a gift,” it continues, “may make a donation to Gloria’s Foundation.”Gloria Steinem looks on prior to ringing the closing bell on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York on March 9, 2026.Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty ImagesSteinem was a writer, political activist and feminist organizer whose lifelong work helped amplify women’s voices, break barriers and open doors for women to achieve greater equality at home, in the workplace, and throughout society.“I would just say that I was trying to make the world a little more fair and a little more representative than it was when I got here,” she said of her legacy in an interview with the BBC in 2023.Her work and activism included co-founding in 1971 the Women’s Action Alliance, which provided resources to women to help overcome sexism and sex discrimination, and that same year co-founding the female-led Ms. magazine, which included articles on everything from abortion to where political candidates stood on women’s issues.Gloria Steinem, editor of Ms. Magazine, is seen at a 1977 news conference at the National Press Club that critiqued then-President Jimmy Carter's first year in office and his commitment to women’s rights. Bettmann via Getty Images“The magazine really is a forum for many different kinds of experiences,” she said in 1973. “The one element that is the kind of foundation of this magazine and makes it different from others is that it simply considers that women are human beings. That doesn’t sound very revolutionary, but it is because the other magazines are still arguing about it.”She also was one of the co-founders of the National Women’s Political Caucus, which was established in 1971 to promote female candidates running for office after Congress failed to pass the Equal Rights Amendment.Some of her later work included establishing Take Our Daughters to Work Day in the 1990s — a now-international event that includes all children, no matter the gender — and co-founding the Women’s Media Center in 2005, which brands itself as working to “shed a light on the underrepresentation and misrepresentation of women in the media.”Steinem was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor, from then-President Barack Obama in 2013 for her work on women’s rights.“When I got the call from the White House, I said, ‘Are you sure?’” Steinem said in an interview at the time, laughing. “What makes this medal mean so much is that it’s for waging peace, you might say.” President Barack Obama awards Steinem the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Nov. 20, 2013, in Washington, D.C. In the lower left, former President Bill Clinton, himself a recipient, applauds.Bill O'Leary/The Washington Post via Getty Images“As a writer, a speaker, an activist, she awakened a vast and often skeptical public to problems like domestic violence, the lack of affordable child care, unfair hiring practices,” Obama said at the time. “And because of her work, across America and around the world, more women are afforded the respect and opportunities that they deserve.”Steinem, who was born in Ohio in 1934, was inspired to start her activism journey after spending two years in India on a scholarship following her graduation from Smith College in 1956.She then went on to work as a freelance journalist and garnered national attention for her exposé, “A Bunny’s Tale,” published in Show magazine after she went undercover as a Playboy Bunny to reveal the conditions in Hugh Hefner’s New York Playboy Club.Steinem attends a news conference at the American Civil Liberties Union office in New York, July 12, 1973.AP Photo/Richard DrewSteinem was also an author, with her memoir, “An Unexpected Life,” set to be published posthumously later this month.She also continued her political activism later in life. She served as honorary co-chair of the Women’s March on Washington, D.C., in January 2017, following Donald Trump’s 2016 election victory, and did not shy away from criticizing the president.Steinem, a fierce advocate of women’s reproductive rights, also condemned the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022.“It felt both new and angering and ancient,” she told NPR of the decision. “ I think there have always been efforts to control women’s birth giving.”In this Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017, file photo, writer and political activist, Steinem speaks to the crowd during the women's march rally, in Washington.AP Photo/Jose Luis MaganaHillary Clinton, reacting to news of Steinem’s death on CBS Mornings, hailed her as “one of the architects of the entire structure of women’s equality” while speaking on her legacy and impact on her own life.Steinem tore down societal obstacles for women and opened doors, allowing them “to participate where their talents and hard work took them,” the former secretary of state said. It was “not only for her to walk through but for her to lead literally millions of others.”“She wasn’t going to be an astronaut, but by goodness she made it possible for Sally Ride to be an astronaut. She wasn’t going to play college sports, but she stood behind the women in Congress who passed Title IX to open up opportunities in sports and academics for girls,” she said.“With all of the setbacks we’ve seen over the last decade or so, I want her voice to remain in our heads,” she added.Hillary Rodham Clinton and Gloria Steinem attend a performance of "Gloria: A Life" at New York City’s The Daryl Roth Theater in honor of "International Women's Week" in 2019.Bruce Glikas via Getty ImagesAsked what lessons she wants young girls to take from Steinem’s life, Clinton encouraged not just working to improve and challenge yourself but bettering the lives of others.“It’s wonderful to do what you can to further your own future and get the best education you can and pursue your dreams, but it’s even greater to help other people along,” she said. “Don’t just narrow your world to the problems that you have; find ways to reach out and lift up others, and when you do, it’s going to expand your universe. And you’re going to find things about yourself and what you’re capable of that you never would have thought possible.”Vice President Kamala Harris in a statement also expressed gratitude to Steinem for supporting women running for office, including herself during her 2024 presidential campaign.“A campaign that was made possible, in no small part, because of her activism and so many other giants upon whose shoulders we stand,” Harris said. “She was invested in young women and keeping the door open for the next generation of leaders, and her advocacy was always about fighting for the strength, intelligence, and dignity of women everywhere.”Similar tributes have started pouring in for Steinem.Steinem of the National Organization for Women attends an Equal Rights Amendment rally outside the White House on July 4, 1981, in Washington.AP Photo/Scott Applewhite“Gloria Steinem was a fearless trailblazer who transformed the fight for equality in America and inspired generations of women to know their power,” wrote House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on social media. “May it be a comfort to all of us who loved Gloria that her extraordinary legacy will live on in every generation that carries her fight forward.”“Steinem will go down in history as one of the most important activists of all time, leading a movement for the equality of half the world: its women,” veteran CNN journalist Christiane Amanpour also wrote.“Generational change doesn’t happen by accident or fate — it takes leaders like Gloria Steinem who work hand in hand with so many others to build a lasting movement,” wrote businesswoman and philanthropist Melinda French Gates. “The decades of energy, brilliance, and advocacy she devoted to women’s rights helped so many of us see that we belonged at the tables where decisions are made.”“Gloria Steinem was a true pioneer — not just for the many accomplishments in her own life, but for what she made possible for all the women she inspired. She didn’t just open doors for generations of women, she expanded our imagination of what’s possible,” wrote businesswoman and Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington.Her namesake foundation has announced that a celebration of her life will be held later this year in New York City.