Patricia Ireland is a U.S. administrator and feminist. She served as president of the National Organization for Women, from 1991 to 2001 and published an autobiography, “What Women Want”, in 1996. Before becoming an attorney, Ireland worked as a flight attendant. She began her fight for women’s rights in the 1960s when she discovered discrepancies in her insurance coverage. Her first victory came when the United States Department of Labor ruled in her favor, and she started her legal career doing volunteer work for the National Organization for Women.
She has advocated extensively for the rights of poor women, gays and lesbians, and African women. She has also advocated electing female candidates, and training people to defend clinics from disruptive anti-abortion protesters around the United States.
Source-Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patricia_Ireland