The State of Feminism

Changemakers across generations share their perspectives on why feminism is needed today and how we can move equality forward.

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To honor Feminist.com’s 30-year anniversary, we gathered a diverse group of leading voices across generations for a salon on “The State of Feminism” at Gloria Steinem’s historic New York home in December 2025. We had a powerful, much-needed conversation about the relevance of feminism today and how we can collectively create a more equal future.

We asked each attendee to share their thoughts on this question: Why do we need feminism now, and what do we need to evolve and move forward? It was an inspiring evening filled with warmth, solidarity, and insightful discussions that covered topics including the importance of intersectional and inclusive feminism, challenging the attacks on and elevating women of color, combatting disinformation and biased media algorithms and platforms, what girls are facing today, what gives us hope, and much more.

Click on each attendee’s image below to read some of their insights and calls to action.

Karen Obel Cape

Karen Obel Cape
Feminist.com advisory board member and founding Feminist.com board member | Former director of V-Day College Campaign
Photo by Gia McKenna

Kimberlé Crenshaw
Co-founder and executive director of the African American Policy Forum | Professor of law at UCLA Law School and Columbia Law School | Author
Ophira Edut

Ophira Edut
Founding editor of the multicultural women's magazine HUES | Editor of the Adios, Barbie anthology (also known as Body Outlaws) | Co-founder of AstroTwins | Feminist.com advisory board member and former Feminist.com board member
Photo by Gia McKenna

Laura Esquivel
Civil rights, LGBTQ+, Latinx, and environmental activist | Senior legislative representative at Earthjustice
Carol Gilligan

Carol Gilligan
Professor of Humanities and Applied Psychology NYU | Former Harvard psychologist | Author of the landmark book In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women's Development | Feminist.com advisory board member
Photo by Gia McKenna

Dolores Huerta
Founder and president of the Dolores Huerta Foundation | Co-founder of United Farm Workers | Feminist Majority Foundation board member
Sheherazade Jafari

Sheherazade Jafari
Co-founder of The Ripple Collective | Adjunct faculty at Georgetown | Feminist.com Advisory board member and former Feminist.com board member
Carol Jenkins

Carol Jenkins
Host of Black America | Former board chair, president, and CEO of the ERA Coalition
Jazmin Kay

Jazmin Kay
Founding Executive Director of 18by.vote | Feminist.com advisory board member
Nancy Northup

Nancy Northup
President and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights | Former founding director of the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law
Alyson Palmer

Alyson Palmer
Musician | Activist | Co-founder of the feminist pop band BETTY
Ky Polanco

Ky Polanco
Co-founder of FEMINIST
Kavita Ramdas

Kavita Ramdas
Senior strategic advisor for International Planned Parenthood Federation | Former president and CEO of the Global Fund for Women | Leadership roles at the Ford Foundation and Open Society
Amy Richards

Amy Richards
Author of We Are MAKERS | Producer of the Emmy nominated series WOMAN | Executive producer of The Glorias | President of Soapbox, Inc., the creators of Feminist Camp | Feminist.com Advisory board member and founding Feminist.com board member
Reshma Saujani

Reshma Saujani
Founder and CEO of Moms First | Founder of Girls Who Code
Photo by Franco Vogt Photography

Marianne Schnall
Founder and executive director of Feminist.com | Founder of What Will It Take Movements | Journalist | Author | Host of ShiftMakers podcast
Pamela Shifman

Pamela Shifman
President of Democracy Alliance | Former Executive Director of NoVo Foundation | Feminist.com Advisory board member and former Feminist.com board member
S. Mona Sinha

S. Mona Sinha
Global executive director of Equality Now | Former chair Women Moving Millions and Equal Rights Amendment Coalition’s Fund for Women’s Equality
Photo by Aubrie Pick

Jamia Wilson
Editor, podcaster, speaker | Award-winning author of Make Good Trouble, This Book Is Feminist and others | Feminist.com board member
Gloria Steinem

Gloria Steinem
Author, writer, activist | Co-founder of Ms. Magazine and Women’s Media Center | Feminist.com Advisory Board member
Elizabeth Ziff

Elizabeth Ziff
Musician, activist | Co-founder of the feminist pop band BETTY
Susan Celia Swan

Susan Celia Swan
Executive Director of V-Day | Founding Feminist.com Board member

Watch highlights from the State of Feminism Salon

For more about the event, visit the page for the 30-Year Anniversary Salon held at Gloria Steinem’s home.

For more about previous Feminist.com events, visit our Retrospective Series.

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