Gloria Steinem on feminism: 'We are not crazy, the system is crazy'

At 85-year-old Gloria Steinem is still not done pioneering the women's movement.

The iconic activist and writer attended Thursday night's DVF Awards at the Brooklyn Museum to present Anita Hill with the Lifetime Leadership Award for her incredible strength throughout her career to demand race and gender equality and eradicate sexual harassment.

"She didn't ask to play this role, but when called upon she came forward with enormous courage and told the truth. That was the first big consciousness raising in this country because it was on television. She suffered terribly because she was not believed and the witnesses that could have supported her testimony were not called. She maintained her dignity throughout and she saved our sanity and I hope that we can give her our gratitude," Steinem exclusively told AOL about Hill.

Steinem, who recently celebrated her 85th birthday, has seen the waves of feminism (or lack thereof) come and go since the late 1960s. From the Vietnam War to modern day crusades such as #MeToo and #TimesUp, the activist is excited about where we are and where we are heading.

"It's exciting to realize that we are not crazy, the system is crazy. It's now a majority understanding, so we are no longer a little group over here, which is still important, but it is a majority in all of the public opinion polls and that's great victory," Steinem said. "That also means we have a backlash -- a third of the country that's mad and is still into the hierarchy of race and sex. They did not elect a president because he was not elected but they have a president."

The DVF Awards were created in 2010 by Diane von Furstenberg and The Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation to recognize and support women who are using their resources, commitment and visibility to transform the lives of other women. These are women who have had the courage to fight, the power to survive and the leadership to inspire.