Donald Trump has “galvanized” the women's movement and that consequence of his presidency—if not his policies—gives Patricia Ireland hope, she says.

“There is a certain irony that our movement prospers in adversity,” says Ireland, who, as the longest-serving president of the National Organization for Women (NOW) from 1991 to 2001, has witnessed her share of bad and good times for the women's movement.

A practicing labor lawyer in South Florida, Ireland, 71, has recently stepped down from national NOW responsibilities but still works with her local chapter, and represents unionized flight attendants of Southwest and American Airlines.