Hillary Clinton led public tributes to Gloria Steinem, the pioneering American feminist campaigner who died at her New York home aged 92, calling her "one of the architects of the entire structure of women's equality." Speaking on CBS Mornings, the former US secretary of state and presidential candidate, who counted Steinem as a friend and ally during her 2016 campaign, urged younger women to draw on Steinem's example and described her as "heartsick" at the news, while praising the optimism that underpinned decades of Steinem's activism.

Other prominent figures also paid tribute, including author Roxane Gay, activist Rachel Cargle, broadcaster Ann Curry and CNN's Christiane Amanpour, all crediting Steinem with reshaping opportunities for women and inspiring their own careers and activism. Clinton recalled first becoming aware of Steinem's work in the 1960s and 70s, when women faced exclusion from schools, jobs and scholarships, and noted a recent conversation with Steinem at her home last year in which she remained hopeful despite ongoing "challenges and pushback" to women's equality worldwide.