Sep 03 2026
For Immediate Release: September 3, 2026
Media Contact: Christina Coleman, [email protected]
NEW YORK, NY – The National Domestic Workers Alliance mourns the loss of Gloria Steinem, the trailblazing feminist, journalist, organizer, and beacon of change for women, workers, and multiple movements for justice. Steinem died Wednesday at the age of 92.
For generations, Steinem worked tirelessly to transform the systems, policies, and culture that restricted women’s freedoms and constrained their lives. She intimately understood that a fight for gender equality was incomplete without the fight for economic and racial justice, expanding the women’s movement beyond challenging sexist ideas to fairness in the workplace, agency in daily life, and an intergenerational influence that inspires women and girls decades later.
Steinem was an early and steadfast champion of domestic workers and a powerful believer in the leadership of the women most directly affected by injustice. Behind the scenes, Steinem was a devoted mentor and inspiration to hundreds of women leaders throughout her life, including NDWA’s founder, Ai-jen Poo, whom she met as a young organizer. In 2012, when TIME named Poo one of the 100 Most Influential People in the world, Steinem wrote a profile celebrating her leadership. Steinem described Poo as a “gifted organizer” and recognized her ability to build social change from the bottom up. She wrote about the thousands of domestic workers who had been treated as “unskilled and expendable,” despite being responsible for caring for children, older adults, and the millions of families who depend on their work.
That recognition captured something fundamental about Steinem: she saw the humanity, power, and possibility in people and movements that too many others overlooked.
“Gloria understood that the work of caring for one another is at the heart of every movement for justice,” said Ai-jen Poo, President of the National Domestic Workers Alliance. “She believed in the power of women to transform our own lives and the world around us, and she understood that domestic workers are powerful leaders in that transformation.”
“In addition to being a champion of our movement, she was also a mentor, a friend, and a source of wisdom and courage to me personally. And I know she would want us to ground in hope. She always said, ‘Hope is a form of planning.’ We will proudly carry her work forward with hope in our hearts, always.”
The domestic workers’ movement is stronger because Steinem believed in it, and NDWA will honor her by continuing the sacred work she dedicated her life to.
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National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) is the leading voice for dignity and fairness for millions of domestic workers in the United States. Founded in 2007, NDWA works for respect, recognition and inclusion in labor protections for domestic workers, the majority of whom are immigrants and women of color. NDWA is powered by over 70 affiliate organizations and local chapters and by a growing membership base of nannies, house cleaners and care workers in over 20 states. Learn more at www.domesticworkers.org. NDWA is a non-partisan non-profit organization that does not endorse, support, or oppose any candidates for public office.