Women's equality activist Gloria Steinem sits down with 13abc - 13abc.com Toledo (OH) News, Weather and Sports

Women's equality activist Gloria Steinem sits down with 13abc

Toledo native Gloria Steinem has led the fight to level the playing field for women for years.

Today she made a stop in Bowling Green to celebrate 40 years of accomplishments for the Women's Equity Action League.

13ABC's Christina Williams sat down one-on-one with Steinem, who says the battle for equal rights is far from over.

Gloria Steinem is the face of the women's movement. For a majority of her adult life Steinem has pushed for equality for women in politics, the board room, on the pay scale and for a choice when it comes to abortion.

"The single biggest mistake we had is that we were too nice," says Steinem.

Now in her late 70s, the mission continues. Steinem spends time touring the country, speaking with audiences about how important it is to keep the momentum of the women's movement alive. 

"The old way was to say it's impossible, you're crazy you can't do this, and we did it anyway...now the new form is, it used to be necessary but now it's not, could not be less true," says Steinem.

Decades later, Steinem admits America has made great strides with equality but there's still room for improvement. She says there is support for equal pay but women are not on an equal scale with men yet.

In 2008, we spoke with Steinem, that same year President Obama made history as the first black President. Steinem says it's only a matter of time before a woman runs the White House.

"The presence and bravery of Hillary Clinton changed the molecules in the air. We can now imagine a woman as President but I think the inability to see women in leadership roles in public lives, because we associate female authority with childhood, that's when we see female strength," says Steinem.

While the majority supports equal rights there are plenty of people working against it. Steinem says one of the leading forces is reality TV.

"These ridiculous housewives shows that are totally devoted to making women seem overindulged, dumb and competitive with each other... It's part of the backlash, says Steinem.

She says the backlash needs to be fought and for Steinem that fight begins November 6th.

"It depends who votes, the electorate is still older, richer, whiter than the majority of the country. It depends who votes," says Steinem.