Lisa Paquette is a junior at American University and an intern at the Religious Action Center.
Equality in the workplace is an
issue that women have been struggling with and continue to deal with. I grew up
with a mother who holds a high-ranking position in the company she works for;
it never occurred to me that this was not the norm. As part of an assignment
from the professor overseeing my internship here at the Religious Action
Center, I had to read a book called Leveling
the Playing Field: Advancing Women in Jewish Organizational Life by
Shifra Bronznick, Didi Goldenhar, and Marty Linsky. This book brings to light
the startling lack of women in high-ranking positions as well as gender equity
within Jewish organizations and is meant to be
used as a physical guidebook to mentor organizational leaders as they attempt
to make changes within their organization.
One organization featured in the
book is Advancing Women Professionals (AWP), whose mission is to “advance women
into leadership positions in Jewish life; stimulate Jewish organizations to
become more equitable, productive and vibrant environments; and promote
policies that support work-life integration and flexibility for professionals
and volunteers.” Leveling the Playing
Field discusses much of the work AWP does in order to achieve its goals,
using statistics, personal accounts, and studies to demonstrate the situation
in the Jewish organizational life. Expanding upon content provided on AWP’s
website, the book suggests some strategies for change that organizations can
implement in order to create gender equity in their workplaces, including
organizational evaluations and goal-setting,
However, the sole purpose of the
book is not to promote women into higher ranking positions but also to further
discussion about creating gender equity in Jewish organizational life. As a
Jewish female working for a Jewish organization, I was intrigued by the book
and by AWP. Having been involved in various Jewish organizations throughout my
life, I reflected back on the leadership of these organizations and realized
that, at the majority of them, men held the highest ranking positions. From my
personal knowledge of some Jewish organizations, it seems as though many are
taking the necessary steps toward the goal of gender equity, including closing
the salary gap between men and women, hiring women to fill top jobs, and
creating new opportunities for women to excel within these organizations.
Slowly, Jewish institutions are providing opportunities for women to advance
within the organization.
Here at the Religious Action
Center, one of the leading positions is held by a woman – our Legislative
Director, Barbara Weinstein, directs legislative policy and oversees the RAC’s Eisendrath Legislative Assistant program, a one-year
fellowship for recent college graduates focusing on Jewish values and social
justice. On a similar note, the ratio of men to women in the office is
well-balanced, and rather than focusing on whose position is higher than
another, everyone at the Religious Action Center works as a strong team. I
believe that the Religious Action Center is a great example of a Jewish
organization that is successful at achieving gender equity within the office.
Besides our own opinions on
equity, what does Judaism have to say about the subject? There are a few places
in the Torah which point toward equity. Genesis teaches us that men and women
were created equally in the image of God. If this is the case, men and women
should be treated equally in the workplace, as well. This idea is also
mentioned is Leviticus 19:13, which states, “You
shall not defraud your neighbor.” All workers deserve to be paid fairly for the
job they perform, regardless of gender. These two examples from the Torah show
that gender equity is an important issue which Reform Judaism values.
Want to do your part to promote
gender equity? Write
to your Senators now in support of the Paycheck Fairness Act (S. 182),
which would strengthen the Equal Pay Act of 1963 to provide effective
protection against sex-based pay discrimination.
Both within and outside of Jewish
organizational life, it is essential that gender equity is at the forefront of today’s
social and political issues. Women will never receive equal pay and higher
ranking jobs if we do not fight to make it so. Books such as Leveling the Playing Field and
organizations such as AWP are here to help facilitate the process, providing
insight into the steps that must be taken in order to ensure gender equity in
the work force. It is now up to us to take these steps forward.