A Legacy of Courage: Remembering Gloria Steinem and Louise Noun
(Gloria Steinem, left and Louise Noun, right)
When I began working for Chrysalis, I did not fully understand how important and widely respected our founder, Louise Noun, was. I gradually came to recognize that, despite her small stature and quiet demeanor, Louise was a giant among women, activists, and philanthropists.
The recent death of feminist icon Gloria Steinem offers an opportunity to reflect on her friendship with Louise and the important role both women played in advancing feminism and activism.
Before I joined Chrysalis, Steinem visited Louise in Des Moines many times, often helping raise funds for Chrysalis through special events and gatherings.
In the early 1990s, the Ms. Foundation for Women, which Steinem helped establish, honored Louise for her intergenerational philanthropy and activism at a ceremony in New York City.
The foundation also recognized Margaret Jensen Connet as a Woman of Vision. When I first came to Chrysalis, Margaret was one of my colleagues. She helped develop the curriculum for the earliest Chrysalis After-School programs and was instrumental in creating a collection of activities to guide program facilitators.
In a recent Substack reflection, Des Moines Register opinion columnist Rekha Basu recalled meeting Steinem at a Chrysalis event in 1996. During a reception, Steinem spoke about the feminization of poverty and the “masculinization of wealth,” describing women giving money to support other women as a revolutionary act.
Later that evening, Steinem addressed a crowd estimated at 600 people. Basu remembered the remarkable range of people who gathered, from members of the Young Womyn’s Feminist Corps, ages 13 to 21, to Louise, who at age 88 was described as the mother of modern Iowa feminism. Their collective presence demonstrated that feminism was alive and well in Iowa.
Steinem reminded the audience that even a small action can create far-reaching change: “The flap of a butterfly’s wings changes the weather hundreds of miles away.”
That idea lives at the heart of Chrysalis.
Louise Noun and Gloria Steinem understood that the social, economic and political equality of women is necessary, just, and even revolutionary. They also understood that progress depends on people willing to turn their values into action.
Especially now, continuing the work these women so clearly led requires courage. Their legacy calls us to keep investing in women and girls, challenging inequity and building a community in which every woman and girl has the opportunity to thrive.
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