Inez McCormack

Who was Inez McCormack?

Inez McCormack was a Northern Irish trade union leader and human rights activist. She was the first female president of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, representing the UNISON union. She also successfully campaigned for the inclusion of strong equality and human rights provisions in the Good Friday Agreement, and was a signatory to the MacBride Principles for fair employment.

McCormack founded Participation and the Practice of Rights, a human rights organisation supporting disadvantaged groups based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, which she continued to advise until her death.

McCormack was named by the American publication Newsweek in 2011 as one of "150 women who shake the world", and her life and work have been portrayed by Meryl Streep in the documentary play SEVEN.