Acumen

We lost another giant yesterday, a leader who taught us how to be strong and powerful and feminine and not apologize for any of it. A woman who reminded us that one person can change the world if she knows how to bring others with her. Gloria Steinem knew hardship, and she turned it into resolve. Her curiosity and empathy underpinned a lifetime of unrelenting work toward equality. She was courageous. As a teenager in the mid-70s, I found my own resolve to be called Ms. and not Miss. Thank you, Gloria. And she was a listener. Even in her 90s, she made room to listen, gathering in her home, understanding that change starts with being heard. "We are all one human family, and we are responsible for one another," she said. It's the same conviction I see in so many of the leaders Acumen has been privileged to back and to learn from — people who understand that dignity isn't something you're given, it's something you insist on, for yourself and for everyone else. Gloria showed us what it looks like to spend a life that way. We're grateful for it, and we'll carry it forward.