The feminist leader Patricia Ireland has been dismissed as chief executive of the Y.W.C.A. less than six months after she was hired to head it. Ms. Ireland was notified of the decision on Thursday in New York, where she was attending a conference. She said in an interview on Monday that members of the national coordinating board of the Y.W.C.A. had asked for her resignation, but she declined because she did not want to give the impression that she had "jumped ship." "I was uncharacteristically speechless," Ms. Ireland said. "There had been no notice." Her dismissal was first reported in...