Patricia Ireland quotes

Patricia Ireland, an influential American activist, is widely known for her dedication to women's rights and social justice. As a prominent feminist leader and former president of the National Organization for Women (NOW), she has played a vital role in advancing gender equality. Patricia's commitment to empowering women and fighting against gender-based discrimination is evident through her numerous accomplishments. Her visionary leadership has shaped significant legal and policy changes, ensuring reproductive rights and pay equity. Her advocacy work spans diverse issues, including ending violence against women and promoting LGBTQ+ rights. Patricia Ireland continues to inspire and educate the next generation, leaving an enduring legacy in the pursuit of a more equitable society. Explore more about Patricia Ireland and her impactful contributions to women's rights movement on our website.

There are a lot of people who worked extremely hard in the election who are still organized who know how to do door to door and phone canvassing, who know how to raise money.

- Patricia Ireland

I just have that sense this is the reason we got Sandra Day O'Connor on the Court in the first place is because Ronald Reagan was running for President.

- Patricia Ireland

Violence may be a good focus to organize around, but we have to look at women's lives in our entirety.

- Patricia Ireland

They plan to ride into the White House on the Sweet Talk Express. Well, think again. Bush and Cheney are not compassionate conservatives. They are ruthless reactionaries.

- Patricia Ireland

When I hear traditional family values raised, I hear that effort once again to re-establish the man as head and master of his family. Who had the, not only the right, but the obligation to discipline his wife and children to keep them in line?

- Patricia Ireland

Is a woman raped every three minutes or every six minutes? It is far too much, whatever it is.

- Patricia Ireland

I want to organize so that women see ourselves as people who are entitled to power, entitled to leadership.

- Patricia Ireland

We have to stop this violence. We have to make the political nature of the violence clear, that the violence we experience in our own homes is not a personal family matter, it's a public and political problem. It's a way that women are kept in line, kept in our places.

- Patricia Ireland

Some campaigns are not worth waging if you can't win; others have to be fought on grounds of principle regardless of the chances for success.

- Patricia Ireland

Stewardesses are still paid so little that in many cases, new hires qualify for food stamps.

- Patricia Ireland

The Violence Against Women Act is so important. It provides money to train the cop on the beat, to train the judges that this is a new day, that we won't tolerate this violence and to know how to deal with it.

- Patricia Ireland

Most of us see Justice O'Connor as something of an icon, although we do not agree with all of her decisions.

- Patricia Ireland

Extremely strong, effective, tenacious, and powerful political networks can be built when you fight losing battles as well as when you win.

- Patricia Ireland

I have a very personal interest. I am a Miami-Dade voter. One of the issues is that my vote and so many other votes of women and African Americans in Florida are being discounted or discarded. I want my vote to count.

- Patricia Ireland

Some of us may just, in one-on-one conversations with our family, with our friends, over the back fence with our neighbors, talk about the reality of our lives and realize that we're not alone, that we have a right to be physically safe and emotionally safe in our own homes.

- Patricia Ireland

Women are called upon to defend every bit of progress we have made against particularly virulent attack. But we must also hold out a vision, put forth a positive agenda of what women need and want and then move forward toward that dream.

- Patricia Ireland

We may be in a tough time right now, but when we are in a tough time is when our movement gets really strong.

- Patricia Ireland

We always knew when we took on the issue of violence against women that somehow our opposition would come after us.

- Patricia Ireland

I know that Bush, for political reasons, is going to nominate a minority, a Hispanic man or someone where it will be harder for people on the progressive side to oppose and split some of the traditionally progressive or democratic constituents.

- Patricia Ireland

I know that it isn't just violence against women, it's how do we support ourselves and our families, how do we deal with health care for ourselves and our families? It's a bigger picture.

- Patricia Ireland

Some of those men in power, we just have to change their faces because we're not going to change their minds.

- Patricia Ireland

The opposition has moved from a blaming the victim to blaming the victim's advocate's statistics. Irrespective of what the numbers are, it's far too many.

- Patricia Ireland

And of course we are familiar with the English common law rule of thumb that said a man could in fact use a stick no bigger than his thumb to discipline his wife and family.

- Patricia Ireland

More than 10,000 ballots in Miami-Dade County have been rejected by some machine without any opportunity for a human being to take a look. That is just not right.

- Patricia Ireland

Advice and consent does not mean rubber stamp in the Senate.

- Patricia Ireland

When I started law school I was shocked to learn that our legal system traditionally had the man as the head and master of the family. As late as the '70s and '80s when we were fighting for the Equal Rights Amendment, states like Louisiana still had a head and master law.

- Patricia Ireland

I want to reach young women and to get them involved in the mission of the YWCA, economic empowerment of women and girls, and ending racism.

- Patricia Ireland

Bush's choice of Dick Cheney as his running mate is clear confirmation of the policies he would promote and the nominations he would make to an already closely divided U.S. Supreme Court.

- Patricia Ireland

The Young Women's Christian Association is nourished by its roots in Christianity and, at the same time, over the years, it's been enriched by beliefs and values from all kinds of places, even, in fact, strengthened by our diversity.

- Patricia Ireland

In any grass-roots campaign, building an ongoing base of support is as important as winning the ultimate goal.

- Patricia Ireland