A Salute to Women of Vision

I always find myself in the company of strong women when I am with my friend Jane Comer. So, when she extended an invitation to attend the Ms. Foundation’s annual Gloria Awards on May 13, 2013, in Manhattan, I knew it would be another moment, like every moment with Jane, that made me feel stronger, more confident, more feminine, and more empowered.

The Gloria Awards are named after Gloria Steinem, who founded Ms. magazine in 1972—the first magazine in US history to be created, owned, and operated by women. One year later, Gloria and Marlo Thomas founded the Ms. Foundation to direct funds to women-led grassroots charities. Fifteen years later, in 1987, Gloria sought to publicly recognize these women of vision, and at the insistence of friends, an award was named in her honor. Now, every year the Ms. Foundation honors women across the globe who are making a difference for other women.

This year’s award ceremony was at New York City’s most sophisticated and elegant celebration venue, Cipriani 42nd Street, located in the heart of Manhattan. The magnificent hall was filled with the most powerful women you could possibly hope to know—women like Gloria Steinem, Diane von Furstenberg, Bonnie Raitt, Olympia Dukakis, and Jane Comer.

All of the women were radiant, but the Gloria Awards ceremony is not about fashion, celebrities, pictures, or paparazzi. These women were gathered for another, more important reason: to help make a difference in the lives of other women. Each of them had charted a new course for their female comrades, a path that Gloria Steinem had blazed before them. That night, the “Glorias” of the world would be recognized.

Among those being honored and recognized were:

• Saru Jayaraman, the heroic and impassioned speaker who cofounded the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, an organization that began as support for victims of 9/11 and continues on to improve wages and working conditions for the nation’s low-wage restaurant workforce;
• Diane von Furstenberg, the free-spirited fashion designer known for her iconic wrap dress and for being the inspiration of an Andy Warhol portrait. Born eighteen months after her mother was freed from Auschwitz, Diane married a prince and became royalty, yet she has dedicated her life to helping make other women strong. She now searches the globe for the next generation of strong women leaders;
• Sunny Clifford, the young Lakota woman from Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota who works tirelessly toward bettering the lives of Native American woman by fighting for their reproductive rights;
• Jane Comer, women’s rights activist, philanthropist, and founder of GirlSpring, a foundation focused on helping to empower girls and young women.

And there were the women at Jane’s table: Lisa Burwell, founder and publisher of VIE magazine; Evette Rios, correspondent for The Chew on ABC; Sara Bengur, interior designer; and Tina Teel, art appraiser. All of us were there to, in our own way, support each other and to draw inspiration from the “Glorias.”

Watch for more about these and other heroic women in the 2013 September/October issue of VIE. You can also view more photos in VIE’s Facebook photo album here!

“Our lives are different tomorrow because of what we are doing here today.”

—Gloria Steinem

{Photography by Gerald Burwell}