Refuse all invitations to serve on a “ manel,” an all– male panel, and call them out when you see them.Because women really do need them as partners.Īnd so these eminently capable beings spelled it out. But maybe men needed it spelled out for them.
Maybe they would have stepped up if they saw open misogyny, but they didn’t even notice the absence of women’s voices. Maybe they didn’t want to be accused of mansplaining.
Maybe they viewed it as a women’s fight, with men’s responsibility only to say, “I support you” and “you’ve got this.” Maybe men thought they were helping or didn’t want to be accused of playing Prince Charming, trying to rescue a damsel in distress.
Maybe men didn’t realize what being an ally meant-that it’s not something one can simply claim as an ideology without action. And then they realized: they could only name a handful of those outspoken allies. But they wondered, where was the support of men who proclaimed themselves to be feminists, allies or partners? Perhaps the coalition for equality was particularly weak because the few men who identified as and behaved like partners were on sabbatical or taking leaves of absence from social media. Now these women were eminently capable beings. all male panels) continued to proliferate seemingly unchecked, they found themselves understanding that the road ahead was vexingly brambled: to move ahead, they’d have to fight to keep history in the past and forge a different future in solidarity with each other. And when journalists omitted women’s voices from their articles, and interviewed the former heads of organizations instead of the women who are currently in those head leadership roles, and when “manels” (i.e. With all the turnover in these Jewish communal leadership positions-some of which included C-suite level women but whose appointments weren’t considered newsworthy-they couldn’t help but wonder if women had been considered at all. And when one of them shared moments of feeling invisible, others stepped forward with their own stories, keeping them company and providing them with inspiration. When one of them was recognized, they all rejoiced as if the triumph was theirs. In their private Facebook space, they shared empowering and deflating moments and bonded over successes and challenges.
YAD VEZER RABBI HOLTZMAN PROFESSIONAL
They were used to being underpaid and overlooked for career advancement, and were making small strides towards the professional spotlight, which always seemed to keep moving as they approached it. They were rabbis and writers and educators and program directors and theologians and farmers and lawyers and professors and researchers and social activists and CEOs. These women collectively had produced hundreds of works of literature and journalism crafted educational curricula led social justice movements spoken out for equality, safety and inclusion dismantled hierarchies and woven networks fundraised and overseen budgets of millions, managed hundreds of employees, forged their own organizations and contributed mightily to the organizations that fuel contemporary Jewish communal life. Meanwhile, in a nearby Facebook village, there was a group of bright, talented, insightful, intelligent Jewish women and non-binary people who had been working in various aspects of Jewish communal life for collective centuries. They spoke of maintaining tradition and Jewish identity while demanding that their voices be heard in the larger American landscape. Collectively, these men talked and made important proclamations about the current state of the American Jewish community. Before they spoke, three other men framed the issue. And then, one of those organizations, helmed in the past by a man who had just ceded his position to another man, held a panel to talk about serious issues in the Jewish community. Then, m en journalists interviewed these men about their organizations and all the sources were men. And, most of the successors they chose were men. The heads of the hiring committees, mostly consisting of men, were also men. These organizations had leaders, and when the leaders were ready to retire, they launched a search for their successors. Once upon a time, there was a Jewish community with lots of organizations. (but who are listed at the bottom of the piece to give credit to the women behind the words) The names following are updated as of August 26, 2019.īy the women* you can’t see and whose voices you can’t hear Editor’s note: This post was originally published on eJewish Philanthropy and appears with permission.
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