Haven't I Heard This Song Before?

Today's issue of eJewish Philanthropy contains yet another article lamenting the dearth of qualified managers and leaders in the Jewish philanthropic community. As a leader in this sector, I sympathize with many of Scott Brown's points and agree that the community does not do enough to identify, cultivate and retain highly qualified professionals. We must set higher standards for our professionals if we want our organizations to perform at the levels our community needs and our audiences deserve.

However, this article, like many others on the topic, fails to mention that perhaps one reason why some organizations suffer from a lack of quality managers is that they refuse to consider more than half of the applicant pool--women. According to Advancing Women Professionals and the Jewish Community (AWP), women represent 70% of the Jewish professional workforce, but few rise to top positions. (At a later date, we can discuss the state of affairs that dictates the need for our industry to have an entire organization dedicated to this topic). Contrast this situation to the advances made in other industries. Women now head 23% of the universities in the US, including four out of the eight in the Ivy League. More than half of the nation’s [non-Jewish] foundations have women at the helm. Just this month, Sheryl Samberg of Facebook graced the covers or was featured in articles in The New Yorker, Forbes and Fortune and has been floated as a successor, albeit a longshot, to Timothy Geithner. Yesterday's Wall Street Journal featured an article on two sisters who were CEOs of publically traded companies. The list of companies with women at the helm and in upper management is growing faster than I can name them, but the number of women leading Jewish organizations has remained relatively stagnant.

Some say that top jobs in Jewish organizations are not attractive to women. I disagree. I am fortunate to be the head of a terrific organization with a board of directors that has always judged me for my performance and my skills, never my gender. However, I see many organizations that are not like mine. I have heard the war stories from my colleagues throughout the Jewish world. The gender bias is very real in Jewish communal life and comes into play in hiring practice and promotions on a regular basis. Women, the bright, talented, qualified women—the rising stars to whom Mr. Brown refers—will be able to read the situation for what it is, see the limited opportunities and make the decision to pursue careers in other fields. It is happening now and will continue to happen. Until we as a community are willing to look at all the factors that are contributing to the leadership shortage, we will never be able to adequately address the crisis.