The Hadassah Foundation, which invests in social change to empower women and girls in Israel and the United States, has awarded $335,000 in grants to five organizations that create a more equitable Israeli society for people of all genders and backgrounds.

The Hadassah Foundation has shifted its funding methodology and focus to have a larger influence on systemic barriers facing women and girls. Grants have been extended to a minimum of two-year terms and the funding amounts have increased to enable organizations to broaden and deepen their impact. These changes have led the Hadassah Foundation to select fewer recipients, narrowing in on the key issues that keep women and girls from achieving equality.

The grants focus has been shifted from advancing the economic security of women due to Israel’s changing social climate. This year’s funding themes are: promoting leadership advancement of women and girls, breaking glass ceilings to enable all people opportunities to succeed in their chosen fields, increasing female political representation, and eliminating religious barriers that create unequal or separate playing fields for women.

The 2019 Israel grants are awarded to the following organizations:

Adva Center: A non-partisan policy institute that examines Israeli society to assess the level of equality and social justice. Funding supports a group of 75 individuals appointed to the role of Mayoral Advisor for Gender Equality, covering about 1/3 of Israel municipalities. The advisors will undergo training, coaching, and networking to better implement policies that promote the status of women and gender equality within their designated authorities.

The Center for Women’s Justice: Defends women’s rights to equality, dignity, and justice; ensures religions freedom, and limits the authority of religious institutions over women’s bodies and lives. Funds underwrite public education for hundreds of thousands of Israelis, aimed at reframing the public discourse around the State-prescribed Jewish marriage and promoting solutions to situations of get refusal, or refusal of a Jewish divorce, which keeps individuals in marital captivity.

Israel Women’s Network: Promotes a better Israeli society by focusing on women’s equality and creating the social, physical, economic, and judicial conditions for their prosperity. Funding supports raising public awareness and advocating for the elimination of gender segregation and the exclusion of women in the IDF, workforce, educational system, and civil service arena.

Itach Maaki: Promotes social change, justice, and activism for and by women from marginalized groups. The funded program will work to better integrate women from diverse populations into Israeli government, with an emphasis in the male dominated field of peace and security. The initiative will also ensure that government bodies uphold previous mandates that require ample representation of diverse women on policymaking committees.

SHIN – The Israeli Movement for Equal Representation of Women: Facilitates equal representation of women in politics and in the public sphere. The supported program brings together over 250 Jewish and Arab high school girls to involve them in discussions, activities, and projects that increase their knowledge of women’s rights. The girls receive the skills and direction to address social and political feminist issues.