Get you up to speed: I’m proud to be continuing the legacy of Gloria Steinem – and my mam | News World

What remains unclear — It is unknown how current political efforts will address challenges to women’s rights in the UK and abroad.

I am proud to continue the legacy of Gloria Steinem and my mother

Gloria Steinem made changes that we all benefit from (Picture: Getty Images)

‘Women have always been an equal part of the past. We just haven’t been a part of history.’ 

These words are more than a truth that the late Gloria Steinem observed, they are the legacy of the work of a true trailblazer who dedicated her life to dismantling the structures of inequality designed to keep women out of the history books. 

Gloria didn’t just talk about change, she made it. 

Founding Ms Magazine, the first mainstream news outlet in the US which was run by women, Gloria sparked an international conversation about the devastating experiences of women that were too often hidden. 

In 1976, it became the first national magazine to feature a cover story which addressed domestic violence.

London, UNITED KINGDOM – JUNE 23: Bridget Phillipson, Secretary of State for Education, leaves Downing Street following the weekly cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office in London, United Kingdom, on June 23, 2026. (Photo by Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu via Getty Images)” decoding=”async” loading=”lazy”/>
I’m proud to be part of a government with a Cabinet position for Women and Equalities (Picture: Getty Images)

The following year, it ran a groundbreaking feature on sexual harassment at work and how to stop it.

Many shops refused to sell it at the time because it was seen as too controversial. But let’s remember – this was a time when employers could legally fire women for getting pregnant and abortion was illegal in most states. 

In the UK, women were required to resign from parts of the civil service when they got married. It is unthinkable now but women were denied mortgages and bank accounts unless they had the approval of a man. 

It was also before women had the words to talk about their experiences – too often, violence was normalised. 

Gloria founded Ms Magazine in the 1970s (Picture: Getty Images)

This Is Not Right

On November 25, 2024 WTX launched This Is Not Right, a campaign to address the relentless epidemic of violence against women.

With the help of our partners at Women’s Aid, This Is Not Right aims to shine a light on the sheer scale of this national emergency.

You can find more articles here, and if you want to share your story with us, you can send us an email at [email protected].

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Speaking at a conference in 2012, Gloria said: ‘When I was growing up, there was no term for domestic violence…It was just called life.’ 

We are indebted to feminists like Gloria who gave us language to name these social plagues, a step on the road to ending them.

Although Gloria began campaigning in America over half a century ago, her work resonates with ours. My own story began in the 1980s in the North East of England where women’s voices were often ignored. 

It was a time when the police would turn a blind eye to a man attacking his wife labelling it as ‘just a domestic’. I looked to trailblazing women like Gloria as I started my career fighting for women who have been victims of abuse and violence at the hands of men.

Before I became a politician, I ran a refuge for women and children fleeing domestic violence. 

This work is what motivates me, it’s why I got into politics in the first place, so that I could bring real, meaningful change for women and girls everywhere.

I started my career working in women’s refuges (Picture: Getty Images)

Founded by my mam – a women’s campaigner in the 1970s just like Gloria – it was one of the North East’s first women’s refuges. 

Growing up in the shadow of that activism, I saw firsthand that for many women, ‘rights’ aren’t abstract concepts, they are the difference between safety and peril.

Today, we stand on the shoulders of giants, like Gloria, and my mam, who navigated a much harsher world so that we could occupy this one. 

I am now part of a record-breaking number of phenomenal women in the UK’s most representative Cabinet ever. 

We are making history, as the first government with a dedicated Cabinet Minister working solely on making the lives of women and marginalised communities better. 

The progress fought for by Gloria has been transformative in improving the lives of women and  girls around the world,. 

But despite all the advancements we have made, our liberties are being challenged.

Whether this is a dangerous rollback of women’s rights in other countries, or calls to abolish the Equality Act at home, I feel acutely reminded that our rights are hard won but can be easily lost.

I am proud to be continuing Gloria’s legacy. Serving women and advocating for the marginalised runs in my blood.

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