Patricia Ireland has been fired as the chief executive officer of the YWCA, a position she held for less than six months.

"We have the deepest admiration for Ms. Ireland's dedication to women's issues and social justice, but the YWCA has proved to be the wrong platform for her to advocate for these issues," said Audrey Peeples, chairman of the YWCA's national coordinating board, in a statement.

Conservative Christian organizations had criticized the hiring of Ireland, a well-known feminist and the former longtime president of the National Organization for Women.

The YWCA, which originally was called the Young Women's Christian Association, provides child-care services and after-school programs to more than 750,000 children nationwide. It also provides shelters for women and families and runs violence prevention programs. -(RNS)