Our wonderful leader Hadar led a discussion on women leadership in Israel. Having traveled for 24 hours, the session was much shorter than what would do the subject justice. Normally, these blogs are written in Q & A format, and indeed this discussion followed that path; however, it was Hadar who asked the questions, and the WOFI ambassadors who responded.
Q: What are some characteristics of a leader?
A: Charisma, responsibility, confidence, patience, bravery, knowledgeable, etc.
Q: What are some characteristics of a woman leader?
A (boys): The same qualities; however, they must be even stronger because the world is full of sexism, and they must persevere in order to succeed and be a great and impactful leader.
A (girls): The same qualities.
Q: Who are some female leaders?
A: [We were able to name two]
Q: Who are some male leaders?
A: [The names were spilling out from all corners of the room]
It was evident that women leaders are not as well known (if known at all) by the group. Hadar distributed bios of various female leaders, and in small groups we read and digested just why these women were such good leaders. After, we discussed our newfound admiration for the women to the entire group. All of these women, from various fields, are inspirational, and influence many Israelis on all different levels. I encourage everybody to research at least one of these women, as they are underappreciated in the media and in the topic of Israeli leaders. These women are: Rita Yahan-Farouz, Anat Hoffman, Orna Banai, Keren Or Leibovitch, Yael German, Ruth Calderson, Stav Shaffir, and Shelly Yachimovich.
Hadar admitted that it is unfortunate that we need this session, and I agree. She even stated it took her a surprisingly long time to discover only eight female leaders. The fact that women leaders must be singled out because normal conversation of leaders does not include them is saddening. However, only the gaining and spreading of knowledge can allow Israeli women leaders to be a term of the past, and rather just referred to as leaders of Israel.