{
  "id": 7304169,
  "title": "What It Was Like to Know Gloria Steinem",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/14/what-it-was-like-to-know-gloria-steinem",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-14T11:00:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Time",
    "slug": "time",
    "url": "https://time.com/article/2026/09/14/what-it-was-like-to-know-gloria-steinem/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In 2007, a 33-year-old organizer met Gloria Steinem for the first time. Though a women's studies major in college, the organizer had not fully appreciated Steinem's role in supporting grassroots women's organizations. During an annual fundraising gala, Steinem showed genuine interest in the organizer's work and introduced them to the Ms. Foundation for Women, which aimed to fund and amplify women's organizing efforts.\n\nSteinem expressed surprise upon learning about Carolyn Reed, a founder of the Household Technicians of America in 1971. Reed's efforts, along with Dorothy Bolden and the National Domestic Workers Union in the South, played a crucial role in including domestic workers in federal minimum wage laws after decades of exclusion. The organizer had never heard of these women, yet Steinem was well acquainted with their work and actively supported their causes.\n\nDuring the planning of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, Steinem's insights helped the group connect with the legacy of Black domestic workers organizing and leadership across the country. Steinem recognized value and power in situations where others overlooked them, correcting omissions that hindered the formation of new connections.\n\nA year after their initial meeting, the organizer reached out to Steinem to share the progress in their efforts to pass the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights in New York State. Steinem responded with a formal email, expressing her support and enthusiasm. Over the years, their friendship grew into a mentorship, with Steinem providing guidance through storytelling and sharing her experiences with other women she met.\n\nSteinem saw herself more as an organizer than an activist, focusing on reorganizing power relations and empowering everyday people. She advocated for neighborhood-based organizing circles, believing that gatherings of 13 people were ideal for fostering both individual visibility and collective strength. Steinem actively supported legislative campaigns, writing letters to governors and mayors to ensure that domestic workers would not be excluded from the legislation.\n\nSteinem's essay \"Revaluing Economics\" emphasized the importance of valuing care in our economic model, which had long been undervalued due to its association with women. Her ideas significantly influenced the organizer's work in the following years. As members of the \"G Squad,\" a diverse group of women who met regularly to celebrate Steinem's life and share strategic insights, the organizer came to understand the breadth of Steinem's relationships and the impact she had on women worldwide.",
  "summary": "Gloria Steinem “recognized value and power where others didn’t,” writes Ai-jen Poo.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}