Monica McWilliams

Who is Monica McWilliams?

Monica Mary McWilliams is a Northern Irish academic and former politician.

McWilliams was born in Ballymoney, Co. Antrim, grew up in Kilrea, County Londonderry and was educated at Loreto College, Coleraine. She is a graduate of Queen's University Belfast and the University of Michigan, and became Professor of Women's Studies and Social Policy at the University of Ulster. She conducted ground breaking research into Domestic Violence in Northern Ireland and was an active member of the Northern Ireland Women's Rights Movement and the Northern Ireland Poverty Lobby in the 1980's. She was also the first Chairperson of the ATGWU Women's Committee in Ireland and was elected to both the Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Congress of trade Unions and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.

McWilliams, a Catholic residing in south Belfast, was co-leader of the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition, a political party drawn from the experience of the women's movement in Northern Ireland with the declared objective of increasing the representation of women in politics and influencing the peace negotiations that resulted in the Belfast- Good Friday Agreement.