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.

Steinem contrasts a single-issue demand with an identity and analysis that challenges the whole social order. “Equal pay” names a concrete policy reform within existing structures; calling oneself “a feminist” signals commitment to a broader critique of gender hierarchy—how work, family, sexuality, politics, and culture are organized—and to changing those underlying assumptions. The quote also highlights the rhetorical and political difference between advocating one improvement and joining a movement: feminism is framed not as a narrow interest but as a transformative project that reimagines power relations and social norms. In this reading, Steinem argues that reforms matter, but lasting equality requires structural and cultural change.