Hillary Clinton led tributes to Gloria Steinem on Thursday, hailing the American feminist icon who died at 92 at home in New York as “one of the architects of the entire structure of women’s equality”.
Clinton, a former US secretary of state, presidential candidate and first lady, appeared on the CBS Mornings TV show to deliver a tribute, urging younger generations to use Steinem as a role model in supporting each other in promoting the causes she championed.
“I’m hoping that young women realize that the fight is worth it,” she said. “It is exhilarating.”
Steinem supported Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign as the Democratic nominee running against Donald Trump, which was ultimately unsuccessful. Clinton said on Thursday she was “heartsick” at news of the death of her friend and ally.
“Everyone who not only knew her but followed her, was inspired and challenged by her,” she said.
“I think back to my first awareness of Gloria way back in the 1960s into the 70s, when all of a sudden this incredibly smart, beautiful, talented woman began talking about how women should have equal opportunity, how we should aim for the stars, be able to pursue our own dreams.
“I knew there were, back when I was a young woman, schools that wouldn’t take women, jobs that wouldn’t take women, scholarships that weren’t open to women. I lived it.
“But the lived experience became much more real and applicable to our entire society when Gloria began to point it out.”
Clinton noted Steinem’s distaste at what politics had become in recent years, and said she had “the most incredible conversation” with her during a visit to Steinem’s home last year.
“Even though we’re facing some challenges and pushback here in this country and around the world to women’s full participation and equality, Gloria was at heart an optimist,” she said. “Her activism was rooted in optimism, and that’s a moral choice, and she made it every day.”
Others who paid tribute on Thursday recalled Steinem’s trailblazing.
“Gloria was one of a kind. Genuine, generous, curious, thoughtful. She lived a staggering life and her passing is a staggering loss tempered only by the ferocity of her legacy,” Roxane Gay, the prominent social commentator and author of Bad Feminist, commented on the Instagram post announcing Steinem’s death.
Social justice activist Rachel Cargle posted: “Gloria, you changed my life. You seeded a fire in me that would result in my own activism. I am forever grateful to have learned from what you offered the world.”
The veteran journalist Ann Curry, who overcame prolific newsroom misogyny early in her career to become one of the US’s most respected broadcasters, also used the post to remember her friend.
“Thank you Gloria,” she wrote. “You once told me in an interview that it was your mother’s suffering that first moved you to take action for the rights of women. May you now be in her embrace. How the lives of so many shine a little brighter because you were in this world. With respect.”
Christiane Amanpour, an award-winning former war correspondent and now chief international anchor for CNN, posted her tribute on X.
“Gloria 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,” Amanpour wrote.
“She lived a long and passionate life dedicated to this vital and basic cause. She did it with intellectual precision, emotional awareness, humor and beauty. May she rest in peace and may the cause thrive.”
Clinton added on Thursday, speaking with CBS: “I think about all of the ways that I saw in my own life, over the course of about 10 to 15 years, Gloria’s pushing on those doors to finally get them open, not only for her to walk through, but for her to lead literally millions of others.
“With all of the setbacks that we’ve seen over the last decade or so, I want her voice to remain in our heads.”
