Why Jewish women’s organisations still matter

Many Jewish women’s organisations were established at a time when women had no voice in communal institutions. This is no longer the case.

Women can and have led many of Australia’s Jewish institutions: the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies has a female CEO, the ECAJ has had numerous female presidents, and several schools have female principals.

There’s still a long way to go before women are equally represented in institutional leadership. The issue of unequal female representation at the top is one in which wider society, not just Jewish Australia, continues to grapple with.

So why do some of our most capable female leaders choose to run women’s organisations rather than lead organisations that represent the entire community? Why do these organisations still matter?

The Jewish Independent spoke to four leaders of Jewish women’s organisations in Australia. Some of their answers might surprise you.

Founded in Sydney in 1923, the National Council of Jewish Women Australia (NCJWA) is the peak advocacy body for Jewish women in the country. Lynda Ben-Menashe has been its National President since August, after being approached to take on the role. Would she have taken on the leadership of a general community organisation?

“I certainly would have considered it,” she says. “But I wasn’t approached by a general organisation, I was approached by a women's organisation.”