Born October 19, 1945
Oak Park, Illinois

Women’s rights activist and lawyer

Patricia Ireland went to law school in the 1970s with the aim of defending women, workers, and victims of human rights abuses. Instead she wound up working for one of Miami, Florida’s most prestigious corporate firms. She rose through the ranks, breaking the “glass ceiling” that typically keeps women out of the top positions. Frustrated by the seemingly shallow purpose of her work, Ireland volunteered to be Florida NOW’s (National Organization of Women) legal counsel and threw herself into the women’s movement.

In the late 1970s Ireland fought for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment and in the 1980s participated in the abortion rights movement. She moved to Washington, D.C., in the late 1980s to serve as vice president of national NOW and in 1991 ascended...