Her paternal grandmother, Pauline Perlmutter Steinem, was chairwoman of the educational committee of the National Woman Suffrage Association, a delegate to the 1908 International Council of Women, and the first woman to be elected to the Toledo Board of Education, as well as a leader in the movement for vocational education.
Hennes farmor, Pauline Perlmutter Steinem, var ordförande för utbildningskommittén för National Woman Suffrage Association, en delegat till 1908 års International Council of Women och den första kvinnan som valdes in i Toledos utbildningsstyrelse.