Gloria Marie Steinem (born March 25, 1934) is an American feminist, journalist, and social and political activist.

She became nationally recognized as a leader of, and media spokeswoman for, the Women's Liberation Movement  in the late 1960s and 1970s.

There's something new and very cool at TED 2014 (in addition to the multitude of other new and cool things TED always comes up with!).

This year, a select group of previous speakers are back in "All Star" sessions to update the TED community. (TEDStars?)

One third of the speakers on the TED 2014 main stage will be women. An additional 16 will participate in the "All Star" sessions, which again represents about one third of the sessions' speakers.

I believe stages everywhere (including those at TED and TEDx conferences) should reflect the ratio of women to men in the world's population (i.e. about 50:50).

Susan notes: This piece, which i've received by email on several occasions, is said to have been taken from a home economics high school text book, circa 1954.

According to Snopes, the source is "undetermined." However, the Snopes commentary attached to the piece is insightful, and well worth a read. For evidence of the power of women to drive future economic prosperity, see: Women Are Agents of Geo-Political Change.

Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Ross; c. 1820 or 1821 – March 10, 1913) was an African-American abolitionist, humanitarian, and Union spy during the American Civil War.

After escaping from slavery, into which she was born, she made thirteen missions to rescue more than 70 slaves using the network of antislavery activists and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad.