Named recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom

On August 8, 2013, President Barack Obama announced that Gloria Steinem would receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States, in recognition of her decades of leadership in the women's rights movement.

The announcement highlighted Steinem's role as a co-founder of Ms. magazine, her decades of activism on behalf of gender equality, reproductive rights, and social justice, and her enduring influence as a public intellectual and organizer. The White House statement accompanying the announcement praised her as one of the nation's most influential voices for women's rights.

Steinem was among a class of honorees that year that included prominent figures from politics, science, and the arts, underscoring the breadth of contributions recognized by the award. Her selection reflected a broader institutional acknowledgment, at the highest level of the U.S. government, of the historical importance of second-wave feminism and the specific role Steinem played within it.

The formal announcement preceded the actual ceremony by several months, building public anticipation for what would become one of the most visible honors of Steinem's long career, formally presented later that year at the White House.