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Jane Fonda is sharing the best parts about working with friend Gloria Steinem.
The actress and activist, 86, spoke with PEOPLE at the Women’s Media Center 2024 Women’s Media Awards on Sept. 19. Fonda, who co-founded the Women’s Media Center with Steinem and Robin Morgan in 2005, says that Steinem, 90, is shaping the future.
“You learn so much about history, women’s role in history, what it took to get this far, and we have come very far,” Fonda says. “[Steinem is] like a piece of history. And she’s framed the future and it’s utterly inspirational. Her view of what needs to happen is unique and motivational and inspiring, and I love her dearly.”
The Women’s Media Center is a non-profit organization which aims to “raise the visibility, viability and decision-making power of women and girls in media and, thereby, ensuring that their stories get told and their voices are heard,” per their website.
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The 2024 Awards celebrated multiple honorees for their work in media, including NBC News Washington correspondent Yamiche Alcindor, director and producer Donna Deitch, MoveOn executive director Rahna Epting, Pulso Founder and CEO Liz Rebecca Alarcón, Yellowhammer Fund executive director Jenice Fountain and film organization Chicken & Egg Pictures.
Fonda also shared with PEOPLE what inspires her most about the younger generation.
“They’re fierce. They’re brave. They live their values,” Fonda says. “They’re wise enough to know how to compromise, but never their core values, and they’re changing the world. It’s an honor to be part of that.”
Steinem, who also attended the event, presented the inaugural WMC Gloria Steinem Visible and Powerful Award to actress and director America Ferrera, 40, in a pre-recorded speech.
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“America, you are brave and you are bold. You embody what I value and have always fought for,” Steinem said. “It means so much to me personally that this first ever award in my name is going to you for your groundbreaking portrayals of real women in film and television, for using your powerful and courageous voice to demand fairness, respect, and opportunity for all, and for shifting the culture through your work as a storyteller and a tenacious advocate.”
Ferrera, also in a pre-recorded speech, recalled joining Steinem onstage at a conference in 2016, and being told by the activist to “stay proximate to the issues and to the people most impacted by them.”
“Gloria, you embody visible and powerful, and I am just mind blown to get to follow in your footsteps,” Ferrera said. The Oscar winner also paid tribute to the “nuanced roles” she’s played throughout her career, including in films Real Women Have Curves, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Barbie.
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“As an artist and as an activist, I’m compelled and inspired by so many of you to push back on those who would try to mold me, to stereotype me or to limit my opportunities in media or in life, and who would try to limit anyone’s opportunities,” Ferrera highlighted in her speech.
