Who funds Gloria Steinem (Feminism)

By Xah Lee. Date: .

Who funds Gloria Steinem (Feminism)

2026-04-03 grok ai answer.

feminism who funds gloria steinem 2026-04-03 25fdf
feminism who funds gloria steinem 2026-04-03 25fdf

Gloria Steinem, a prominent second-wave feminist leader, journalist, and co-founder of *Ms.* magazine, received funding from multiple sources over her career. The most notable and controversial early funding came from the CIA.

CIA Funding (1958–1962 and Possibly Later)

Steinem worked full-time as director of the Independent Research Service (also called Independent Service for Information), a front organization that recruited and sent American students to counter Soviet influence at World Youth Festivals in Vienna (1959) and Helsinki (1962). This effort was largely or almost entirely funded by the CIA, with amounts like approximately $85,000 for the Vienna operation alone (a significant sum at the time).

  • She was recruited through CIA-linked figures such as C.D. Jackson and Cord Meyer.
  • The operation used foundations and corporate contributions as pass-throughs, but the primary source was the CIA.
  • In 1967, after Ramparts magazine exposed CIA funding of various student and cultural groups, Steinem confirmed her role in a New York Times interview. She defended the agency, describing it as "liberal, nonviolent, and honorable" in her experience, and stated she would do the work again if given the choice.
  • She remained on the organization's board into the late 1960s.

This early CIA connection has fueled ongoing debates and conspiracy theories that the agency helped shape or promote a particular strand of liberal feminism (focused on gender issues while leaving broader economic structures intact) as a counter to Soviet/communist influence abroad and radical left movements at home. Steinem has acknowledged the funding but maintained it aligned with her views and involved no direct control over her speech or later activism.

Funding for *Ms.* Magazine and Later Work

  • Initial launch (1972): The first issue of *Ms. (a special insert in New York* magazine) was funded by Clay Felker, the magazine's editor and a former colleague from the Independent Research Service era. It sold out rapidly (300,000 copies in days).
  • Subsequent financing included Warner Communications and other commercial/backer support, though *Ms.* struggled with advertisers and later shifted to ad-free or nonprofit models.
  • Steinem helped found the Ms. Foundation for Women (1973) with others like Patricia Carbine, Letty Cottin Pogrebin, and Marlo Thomas. This channeled funds into women's projects; it was not primarily a recipient of large external "funders" for Steinem personally but a vehicle for grassroots philanthropy.
  • The Ford Foundation and similar philanthropic entities have celebrated and partnered with Steinem over the decades (e.g., awarding her honors and supporting aligned work), but there is no clear evidence of direct large-scale operational funding for her core activism comparable to the CIA period. Claims of broader foundation control often overlap with general critiques of elite philanthropy influencing social movements.

Other Context

Steinem's later career relied on book sales, speaking fees, journalism, and support from feminist networks, donors, and organizations she co-founded (e.g., National Women's Political Caucus, Women's Media Center). No single "funder" dominated her post-1960s work in the way the CIA did early on.

The CIA episode remains the most documented and debated aspect of "who funded Gloria Steinem," especially in discussions of how U.S. intelligence influenced cultural and political movements during the Cold War. Steinem has never denied the facts but frames it as pragmatic anti-communist work that fit her principles at the time.