Change remains slow in coming. On the national
scene, the lack of gender balance is glaring, almost six
years after the Ma'yan study was initiated.
The issue of gender parity is most obvious in the
more traditional areas of Judaism. In the Union of
Orthodox Jewish Congregations, none of the 700
member synagogues have woman presidents. This is
largely because such presidents would need to lead
prayer or serve in a legal capacity — which aren't per-
mitted under Halacha (Jewish law). The gender
breakdown of the UJC's 400-member board was not
available.
Of the 786 congregations listed among the mem-
bership in the Conservative movement, women lead
as president in about a quarter of them. In the board
roles for the United Synagogue for Conservative
Judaism, women hold five of 34 board positions (14
percent); no woman has ever served as president.
Of the 244 board members of the Reform move-
ment's Union of American Hebrew Congregations,
74 are women (30 percent). Women lead about a
third of the congregations, 375 out of 985. No
women have held the UAHC's top position.
Although the North American federated umbrella
network, the New York-based United Jewish
Communities, is only in its infancy, it claims five
women among the senior management team of 15.
Among the three top professionals, one is a woman
— Louise Frankel Stoll. Among its executive commit-
tee, eight of 27 members (29 percent) are women.

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idea that only male leadership is desirable. Abramson
needed to recruit women not only to join the board,
but also to assume leadership roles.
"We were looking for people who are willing to get
involved, speak their mind," he says. "I was looking
for the best people whoever that is, male or fethale. It
turned out that some of the best were female. The old
school pattern has been broken."
In Detroit, Flora Miller Winton, president of
Temple Beth El from 1983-1985, was ariiong a small
number of women who took board and officer posi-
tions when men were considered the contributors,
even if the check came from a couple. At the height
of her activism, she was a president of the local
Brandeis University chapter, Beth El's sisterhood and
an ORT chapter, as well as a board member of the
Michigan chapter of the American Cancer Society.
Now, women are more prevalent on communal
boards. Like Abramson, however, Winton believes
boards should look for the most qualified people will-
ing and ready to give their time and talent—
whether they be men or women.
Winton should know. She gave freely of her time
to her temple in the 1970s, working five4ays a week
with the administration. When the executive director
suddenly died, she took over the job for a year until a
permanent replacement could be found: Four years
later, she assumed the president's reins and found that
no one gave her grief for being a woman.
That isn't to say that some did not harbor ill feel-
ings for her as a female leader. The thoughts just
never bothered her or led her to back down.
"Some men resented it. After all, we were reared in
a different era," Winton says. "I think that women, if
they want to, can do it. I don't think it will always be
easy, but they can do it."

female president's term. Federation's Board of
Governors counts 41 women among its 139 members .
(29 percent). The United Jewish Foundation ; the
Detroit Jewish community's real estate/banking arm,
counts 20 women among its 78 members (25 per-
cent). The Jewish Community Council of
Metropolitan Detroit, with a long history of social
justice and interfaith causes, has 22 women on its
board of 54 (40 percent).
Why is it that women, in general, are not serving
in the same numbers as men on the boards of Jewish
communal groups?
Arthur Abramson, Baltimore Jewish Council's exec-
utive director, offers an answer. When he first came to
the council, women had not made it to the top yet. In
fact, few of the 185 board members were women. He
vowed to change that. After slimming the board size
to 42, he has since seen two women, the late Myrna
Cardin and Suzanne Cohen, rise to the top rank. The
board gradually achieved gender balance, with 21 of
the approximately 42 members being
female.
Detroit Federation property
To make change possible, Abramson
manager Irving Protetch
had to upset what had been a tradi-
and Federation's president
tion, known by some as the "Golden
Penny Blumenstein keep
Rule" — meaning, he who holds the
close watch on construction
gold, rules. This meant discarding the
of Handleman Hall and
notion that when couples contribute to
Auditorium at the West
organizations, the man is seen as the
For professional women, the climb has followed the
Bloomfielc UCC.
contributor. It meant also tossing the
LEADERSHIP DANCE on page 10

In metro Detroit, the picture of gen-
der parity stands in sharp contrast to
the national scene. Women lead three
of seven local Conservative congrega-
tions, four of six Reform congrega-
tions, the Jewish Community
Council and the Jewish Federation.
Women also are in the top spot at a
handful of the larger service organiza-
tions, including Jewish Family
Service:
A look at the boards of these congregations and
organizations reveals an improving gender balance. At
Congregation Shaarey Zedek, the executive director as
well as two of the top five officers are women, includ-
ing Dotty Wagner, the first female president since the
congregation began in 1861. Still, men outnumber
women on the Shaarey Zedek board, 35 to 12 (34
percent women). At Adat Shalom, three of the top six
officers are women, including Terran Leemis, the
third female president in 20 years. The board makeup
is 20 men, 15 women (42 percent women).
For Reform congregations, the gender balance is
mixed as well. Marion Freedman is the second female
president at Temple Beth El in its 150 years; the
board of 48 contains just 12 women (25 percent
women). At Temple Israel, founded in 1941, three of
the last eight presidents were women, and women
make up 45 percent of the elected and appointed
board members.
While many of the larger federations long ago cele-
brated their first female presidency, including
Baltimore and New York, the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit is in the second year of its first

Professional Parity?

2/18

2000

7

