All five of the feminist figures (Bella Abzug, Audrey Rowe Colum, Flo Kennedy, and Gloria Steinem) Alice has interacted with in one way (from "Bella" and "Houston") and what their interactions have meant in the moment.
Bella is the one who truly gets to confront Alice (well the ladies of STOP ERA) about her hypocrisy and naivete in following Phyllis Schlafly and following her every word; prior to this moment Alice had shouted at her "Go back to New York!" which looks worse from Bella's point of view given her experiences in the Deep South as a white Jewish woman lawyer defending a black man, where her life was threatened, she likely found Alice anti-Semitic. Her confrontation with Alice is one way of telling her it's not scary to be a working woman, she's already doing that, and to check her privilege.
So why was Audrey a bit suspicious of Alice when she welcomed her and Pamela into her hotel room? The previous time Alice was in the same vicinity as Audrey was during the Republican meeting in Washington D.C. where Audrey had to call Jill to run interference to keep the ERA in the Republican Party platform. Also Phyllis Schlafly's activism attracted the attention of fundamentalists and white supremacists, far-right groups hostile to gender equality or queer people or people of color. Alice and Pamela, being of STOP ERA, just added a lot of anxiety for Audrey who wanted to be the bigger person but protect herself and her daughter. Alice earns Audrey's trust when she good-naturedly laughs at a joke Carmen made and Gloria affirmed.
Out of all the five figures Alice has met: fierce and outspoken Flo has been the friendliest from the beginning. She saw Alice's anti-ERA button but takes time to ask her if she's okay (given that Alice is laying down grabbing food off her plate placed on her chest) and let's Alice eat when the other woman tells her she discovered a new way to eat. They warm up after Alice joining in the sing-a-long with the younger feminists and then Flo takes time to inform Alice that Woody Guthrie, the songwriter of the song, is patriotic and socialist. A few things Flo does here is: she gives Alice room to be experimental and not worry about being ladylike (given the socialization most of the STOP ERA ladies had), she takes time to get to know her, and opens her mind to how people with opposing political viewpoints especially socialists like herself and Woody Guthrie are not Dirty Communists who hate America.
Also important because this episode revealed Alice is dyslexic (and hadn't received a proper diagnosis) and in Real Life Flo Kennedy had a fused spine and three inches of her intestines missing). This was Alice finding a person with a shared struggle!
Alice and Midge share glances for a hot minute but this is a moment where Alice can observe how much her work with Phyllis has been hurting women outside her circle and begins to think that there is something wrong with her prejudices. This is echoed when she stands in protest with STOP ERA against the Lesbian Civil Rights resolution but glances over her shoulder to see Midge humbly expressing joy at the unanimous vote and holding back tears.
Alice's face to face meeting and observation of Gloria Steinem helps her examine her relationship with Phyllis. This was a woman she and Pamela were supposed to insult, but they cannot help but be mesmerized by her (similar to how Alice felt by Phyllis since their sons were young) appearance and smell. They see that unlike Phyllis, Gloria isn't formal with fellow activists or expects them to answer to her, but is friendly with them on an equal level and takes all their viewpoints seriously. Also Gloria is a bit apprehensive at seeing Alice stare at her (STOP ERA pin) but looks at Alice's face to see an upset woman and tells her that her dress is very pretty on her. Alice sees that where Phyllis wants to dominate and win, Gloria just wants women to feel nurtured by one another.
Alice's dyslexia explains why she hasn't really read the feminist literature she gave Phyllis for her research and why she tends to follow the words of others.
Alice's character arc mirrors this quote that Gloria reads to Betty Friedan:
Why should women accept this picture of a half-life, instead of a share in the whole of human destiny?
Aside from Phyllis's Female Misogynist attitudes, there is a grand reason why she brushes off an acquaintance's complaint about Phyllis losing in her last campaign because the voters in that district don't trust women; add to that Arlene Crane's snarky comment about how her husband managed to win despite the Democrats district lines, as we see: Phyllis doesn't like losing or being seen as a failure, as it makes her in the same place as the women she disdains.
I think some women like to blame sexism rather than admit they didn't try hard enough.
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