Eleanor Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority Foundation, will be inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame this October in Seneca Falls, New York.
The Founder of The Feminist Majority, Feminist of the Year Awards, a former president of the National Organization for Women, and publisher of Ms. Magazine, Eleanor Smeal’s life and work has been dedicated to the achievement of women’s equality and human rights. Known as a political analyst, strategist, and grassroots organizer, Smeal has played a pivotal role in defining the debate, developing the strategies, and charting the direction of the modern day women’s movement. She was the first to identify the “gender gap” – the difference in the way women and men vote – and popularized its usage in election and polling analyses to enhance women’s voting clout. She has been at the forefront of almost every major women’s rights victory and pivotal in the passage of landmark legislation for women’s equality. She has pushed to make Social Security and pensions more equitable for women, has campaigned to close the wage gap and she has worked to achieve pay equity for the vast majority of women who are segregated in low‐paying jobs.
“It’s been my great honor to work side by side with Ellie for 30 years, and I can think of no one more deserving of this great recognition,” said Katherine Spillar, Executive Director for the Feminist Majority Foundation. “Ellie has been at the forefront of virtually every fight for women’s and girls’ equality and empowerment in the US and globally for more than four decades — for equal pay, education, reproductive rights and political empowerment. She has been the key strategist in leveraging the power of the gender gap vote and winning gains for women at the ballot box and in Congress. Because of her passion and vision, we will see women added to our constitution in the not too distant future with the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. She has inspired generations of feminists to take up this great battle. I am thrilled for this honor of her work.” Spillar continued.
Smeal will be one of 10 great women inducted this fall, including co-president of the National Women’s Law Center Marcia Greenberger, feminist filmmaker Jean Kilbourne, and Olympic athlete Tenley Albright. The women will join 247 past inductees, including Ms. Magazine co-founder Gloria Steinem, who was inducted in 1993.
The induction will take place October 2-4 at the National Women’s Hall of Fame, the United States’ oldest membership organization devoted to recognizing and celebrating the achievements of American Women. The Hall is located in Seneca Falls, New York, which is most widely known as the birthplace of the American women’s movement and the Seneca Falls Convention of 1848.
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