Despite the fact that as of 2018 approximately 70% of the workforce in the Jewish nonprofit sector identifies as women, there is a persistent gender gap in leadership in the sector with the majority of CEOs and leaders of organizations being male, The Leading Edge reported Thursday, also releasing new research they say identifies the five keystone causes for this gap.
A large majority of Jewish summer camps are lead by men, nearly two in three Jewish Community Center (JCC) top executives are men, a full 94% of the 17 federations that serve large metropolitan areas are led by men (only one such federation is led by a woman), and men lead the majority of Jewish organizations with large operating budgets, according to The Leading Edge.
The gender gap means that leadership in the Jewish community is not drawn from the full range of its people and so is missing many talented potential leaders, according to The Leading Edge. "A more representative set of leaders would be better able to understand and serve the entire Jewish community, ultimately delivering better outcomes for everyone in it," read the report.
The research, launched in 2019 and completed in cooperation with The Starfish Institute, identified 71 causes behind this gender gap in Jewish nonprofit leadership through qualitative research into over 1,200 people's experiences and used quantitative analysis to determine which of these causes are keystone causes.
Keystone causes are those with the most potential to make an impact if they are corrected, according to The Leading Edge. They are causes that impact many other issues but that are not influenced by many other issues.
“The persistent leadership gender gap means that we are not leveraging the talent, experience, and perspective of all the leaders in our community,” says Gali Cooks, President & CEO of Leading Edge. “We’ve long known that in our sector and beyond, but now we have a much more specific map for how to change it."
The five keystone causes of the gender gap identified in the report are boards and funders not holding organizations accountable; Jewish organizations lacking a strategy for diversity, equity, and inclusion; board members and search committee members holding bias; a perception that one cannot be a top leader and primary caregiver; and not enough men speaking out about or prioritizing the leadership gender gap.
Each of these causes represents an opportunity for correction by fixing the issue and in doing so potentially narrowing the gap, said The Leading Edge.
The Leading Edge is an organization that works to strengthen the leadership pipeline in the Jewish nonprofit sector. The organization seeks to support and develop CEOs, strengthen partnerships between leaders and professionals and help create leading places to work. The organization believes that it is important to have a vibrant nonprofit sector led by top talent.