--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's hard to measure success when we're…" description: "\"It's hard to measure success when we're dealing with between 500 and 5,000 years of patriarchy depending on which continent we sit, so I would say femi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93a/gloria-steinem-277_continents_it-s-hard-to-measure-success-when-we-re_1460309.jpg" --- # It's hard to measure success when we're dealing with… ![“It's hard to measure success when we're dealing with between 500 and 5,000 years of patriarchy depending on which continent we sit, so I would say feminism has been successful and we have a huge distance to go, huge.” quote by Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93a/gloria-steinem-277_continents_it-s-hard-to-measure-success-when-we-re_1460309.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93a/gloria-steinem-277_continents_it-s-hard-to-measure-success-when-we-re_1460309.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93a/gloria-steinem-277_continents_it-s-hard-to-measure-success-when-we-re_1460309.jpg) > “It's hard to measure success when we're dealing with between 500 and 5,000 years of patriarchy depending on which continent we sit, so I would say feminism has been successful and we have a huge distance to go, huge.” [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Patriarchal history spans millennia, making success hard to gauge; feminism has made progress but far from complete. **In simple terms:** Feminism has advanced but still has a long way. Key Takeaway Continue pushing for equality. Themes gender equality history social change Mood hopeful critical Type inspirational analytical When to use this quote - policy advocacy - education reform - grassroots organizing - media representation Key Concepts intersectionality systemic oppression activism Questions to Reflect On - What indicators show real change? - How can we sustain momentum? A Different Perspective Measuring progress is complex and can overlook nuanced gains. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) [Measure of success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/measure-of-success/) [Measure Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/measure-success/) [Patriarchy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriarchy/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful/) ## Related quotes > [You don't overturn x-thousand years of patriarchy in a generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-beard/you-don-t-overturn-x-thousand-years-of-patriarchy-in-a-generation/) [Mary Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-beard/) > [“To live the lives we truly want and deserve, and not just the lives we settle for, we need a Third Metric, a third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arianna-huffington/to-live-the-lives-we-truly-want-and-deserve-and-not-just-the-lives-we/) [Arianna Huffington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arianna-huffington/) > [That should be the measure of success for everyone. It's not money, it's not fame, it's not celebrity; my index of success is happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupe-fiasco/that-should-be-the-measure-of-success-for-everyone-it-s-not-money-it/) [Lupe Fiasco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupe-fiasco/) > [Money is not the ultimate point, but it remains the actual measure of success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-meaden/money-is-not-the-ultimate-point-but-it-remains-the-actual-measure-of/) [Deborah Meaden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-meaden/) > [It wasn't until I'd met everyone else's measure of success that I realized I'd failed myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-remender/it-wasn-t-until-i-d-met-everyone-else-s-measure-of-success-that-i/) [Rick Remender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-remender/) > [We wanted to make a living, but success was creating a song that we enjoyed playing. Quite honestly, that is still a measure of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-ramsey/we-wanted-to-make-a-living-but-success-was-creating-a-song-that-we/) [Matthew Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-ramsey/) > [I think your children are your measure of success, regardless of work and career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rhys-davies/i-think-your-children-are-your-measure-of-success-regardless-of-work/) [John Rhys-Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rhys-davies/) > [Starting in high school and continuing through our higher education system, we must ensure our students are on the right path to acquiring marketable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-mccrory/starting-in-high-school-and-continuing-through-our-higher-education/) Pat McCrory > [I measure success in terms of the connection with the audience, which we've been able to do in spades. I mean, it's very hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-freston/i-measure-success-in-terms-of-the-connection-with-the-audience-which/) [Tom Freston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-freston/) > [I don't measure success by how many buildings have my name on it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/i-don-t-measure-success-by-how-many-buildings-have-my-name-on-it/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [“one measure of success in life is a moment of contentment derived from deep fellowship and hard work, the”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sally-mott-freeman/one-measure-of-success-in-life-is-a-moment-of-contentment-derived/) Sally Mott Freeman > [I can only tell you one thing I've learned. Enjoy the walk along the path you've chosen. Don't count down the days. Make the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-french/i-can-only-tell-you-one-thing-i-ve-learned-enjoy-the-walk-along-the/) [Marilyn French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-french/) > [Do not measure success by today's harvest. Measure success by the seeds you plant today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-louis-stevenson/do-not-measure-success-by-today-s-harvest-measure-success-by-the/) [Robert Louis Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-louis-stevenson/) > [How many people you bless is how you measure success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-ross/how-many-people-you-bless-is-how-you-measure-success/) [Rick Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-ross/) > [A true measure of success is just to work hard and get my music out there and just be myself and be real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-beckett/a-true-measure-of-success-is-just-to-work-hard-and-get-my-music-out/) [William Beckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-beckett/) ## More by Gloria Steinem > [People waste more time waiting for someone to take charge of their lives than they do in any other pursuit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/people-waste-more-time-waiting-for-someone-to-take-charge-of-their/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Nothing will happen automatically. Change depends on what you and I do every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/nothing-will-happen-automatically-change-depends-on-what-you-and-i-do/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Women are never again going to be mindless coffee-makers or mindless policy-makers in politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/women-are-never-again-going-to-be-mindless-coffee-makers-or-mindless/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [The state of female artists is very good. But the very definition of art has been biased in that 'art' was what men did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/the-state-of-female-artists-is-very-good-but-the-very-definition-of/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [We will live to see the day that St. Patrick's Cathedral is a child-care center and the pope is no longer a disgrace to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/we-will-live-to-see-the-day-that-st-patrick-s-cathedral-is-a-child/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Just when you thought multi-nationals and crazed consumerism were too big to fight, along comes Naomi Klein with facts, spirit, and news of successful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/just-when-you-thought-multi-nationals-and-crazed-consumerism-were-too/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [I don't know Beyoncé, but I have the impression that she's sincere, that she really is a feminist and wanted to put the word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-don-t-know-beyonc-but-i-have-the-impression-that-she-s-sincere-that/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [I started out life as a writer, and writers write in part because they don't want to talk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-started-out-life-as-a-writer-and-writers-write-in-part-because-they/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Proust's tea cake has nothing on one hour in a college dorm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/proust-s-tea-cake-has-nothing-on-one-hour-in-a-college-dorm/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Sadomasochiasm - which we know very well doesn't exist in societies that don't have child abuse - is regarded some sort of natural sexual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/sadomasochiasm-which-we-know-very-well-doesn-t-exist-in-societies/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Behave like everything you do matters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/behave-like-everything-you-do-matters/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [“Part of traveling over years means coming back to the same place and knowing it for the first time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/part-of-traveling-over-years-means-coming-back-to-the-same-place-and/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [If you say, I'm for equal pay, that's a reform. But if you say. I'm a feminist, that's a transformation of society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/if-you-say-i-m-for-equal-pay-that-s-a-reform-but-if-you-say-i-m-a/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [I think that part of everybody's success is due to their looks, but it just works in different ways. If you're whatever society calls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-think-that-part-of-everybody-s-success-is-due-to-their-looks-but-it/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Of course, we can change. We're very adaptable. But it takes a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/of-course-we-can-change-we-re-very-adaptable-but-it-takes-a-while/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) [Explore all 766 Gloria Steinem quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) ## More Continents quotes > [“In American terms, the accomplishment of Genghis Khan might be understood if the United States, instead of being created by a group of educated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-weatherford/in-american-terms-the-accomplishment-of-genghis-khan-might-be/) [Jack Weatherford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-weatherford/) > [On Father's Day, we pay tribute to all in our society who have taken on the responsibilitie s and joys of fatherhood. Whether our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/on-father-s-day-we-pay-tribute-to-all-in-our-society-who-have-taken/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Entire new continent can emerge from the ocean in the time it takes for a Web page to show up on your screen. Contrary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/entire-new-continent-can-emerge-from-the-ocean-in-the-time-it-takes/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [From time to time the continent shifts, and everything that isn't fastened down slides into Southern California.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lloyd-wright/from-time-to-time-the-continent-shifts-and-everything-that-isn-t/) [Frank Lloyd Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lloyd-wright/) > [Africa is not a country, but it is a continent like none other. It has that which is elegantly vast or awfully little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-wilder/africa-is-not-a-country-but-it-is-a-continent-like-none-other-it-has/) [Douglas Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-wilder/) > [Revisiting the Revolutionary War is a bracing reminder that the fate of a continent, and the shape of the modern world, turned on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/revisiting-the-revolutionary-war-is-a-bracing-reminder-that-the-fate/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [At independence Kenya's economic indicators were equal to those of South Korea, but 45 years down the road, Korea's economy is 40 times that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raila-odinga/at-independence-kenya-s-economic-indicators-were-equal-to-those-of/) [Raila Odinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raila-odinga/) > [From the world wars of Europe to the jungles of the Far East, from the deserts of the Middle East to the African continent,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hoeven/from-the-world-wars-of-europe-to-the-jungles-of-the-far-east-from-the/) [John Hoeven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hoeven/) > [The seasons, like greater tides, ebb and flow across the continents. Spring advances up the United States at the average rate of about fifteen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-way-teale/the-seasons-like-greater-tides-ebb-and-flow-across-the-continents/) [Edwin Way Teale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-way-teale/) > [Almost every continent in the world, including our own, has refugees. But how often when we hear the word do we pause to remind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-simon/almost-every-continent-in-the-world-including-our-own-has-refugees/) [Scott Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-simon/) > [Today, any action anywhere on earth has an immediate repercussion on all five continents. News of a victory of the Eastern armies in Morocco…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikos-kazantzakis/today-any-action-anywhere-on-earth-has-an-immediate-repercussion-on/) [Nikos Kazantzakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikos-kazantzakis/) > [The workman cut to the left, still laying on his horn, and roared around the drunkenly weaving limousine. He invited the driver of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-workman-cut-to-the-left-still-laying-on-his-horn-and-roared/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [As Africans, we need to share common recognition that all of us stand to lose if we fail to transform our continent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thabo-mbeki/as-africans-we-need-to-share-common-recognition-that-all-of-us-stand/) [Thabo Mbeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thabo-mbeki/) > [I am honoured to be asked to take on this role, especially as it comes at such an integral time for our relationship with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-boateng/i-am-honoured-to-be-asked-to-take-on-this-role-especially-as-it-comes/) Paul Boateng > [Germany will regard the Jewish question as solved only after the very last Jew has left the greater German living space... Europe will have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-rosenberg/germany-will-regard-the-jewish-question-as-solved-only-after-the-very/) [Alfred Rosenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-rosenberg/) Browse all 745 Continents quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's hard to measure success when we're dealing with between 500 and 5,000 years of patriarchy depending on which continent we sit, so I would say feminism has been successful and we have a huge distance to go, huge.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gloria Steinem" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/it-s-hard-to-measure-success-when-we-re-dealing-with-between-500-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Continents" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/it-s-hard-to-measure-success-when-we-re-dealing-with-between-500-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93a/gloria-steinem-277_continents_it-s-hard-to-measure-success-when-we-re_1460309.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93a/gloria-steinem-277_continents_it-s-hard-to-measure-success-when-we-re_1460309.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/93a/gloria-steinem-277_continents_it-s-hard-to-measure-success-when-we-re_1460309.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's hard to measure success when we're dealing with between 500 and 5,000 years of patriarchy depending on…” — Gloria Steinem", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Gloria Steinem", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It's hard to measure success when...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/it-s-hard-to-measure-success-when-we-re-dealing-with-between-500-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/it-s-hard-to-measure-success-when-we-re-dealing-with-between-500-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```