Gloria Steinem talks parental leave, women in leadership, and saving democracy

Gloria Steinem, the 92-year-old founder of Ms. magazine and a prominent feminist activist, hosted a gathering in her New York City living room on a Monday afternoon in May 2024. The event featured discussions on the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy's system of governance, which includes women in leadership roles and centering the natural world in decision-making. Steinem's guests included Louise McDonald Herne, a Mohawk Bear Clan Mother, and Michelle Schenandoah from the Oneida Nation Wolf Clan, alongside a diplomat from the Netherlands, a publisher, an impact investor, and comedian Baratunde Thurston. The Haudenosaunee governance model, with its emphasis on separation of power, checks and balances, and impeachment, served as a template for American democracy, though practices like equal power for women were not adopted by the Founding Fathers. Steinem has been hosting such gatherings for decades, with recent discussions exploring artificial intelligence and sexual desire. The current discussion comes at a time when women are leaving the workforce and concerns about AI's impact on jobs and the environment are prevalent. An impact investor noted a study where people struggled to envision a better future, with their paintings of the future being dystopian.