(l-r) CEO of the JC Jo Bucci, chief executive of the JLC Claudia Mendoza and speaker and trainer Harriet Waley-Cohen (Photo: Mark Thomas)[Missing Credit]
Highlighting initiatives such as Token Man, which engages men in the issue of gender inequality in the workplace and pushes for change, Waley-Cohen said: “Has it worked to frame men as the bad guys, the misogynists and heroes? No. We need to make men feel that their issues do matter, while acknowledging inequalities. Both can be true at the same time.”
The panel, which included JC CEO Jo Bucci and was chaired by JLC chief executive Claudia Mendoza, also explored woman to woman allyship, with Waley-Cohen saying: “We can’t necessarily count on the sisterhood. Women could be much better allies to each other.”
However, Bucci praised the mutual support among the women at the JC, particularly in the aftermath of October 7, when she said she had witnessed “one of the biggest moments of female allyship”.
Bucci noted the shift in the demographic at the paper, saying that in 2021, before she joined two years later, “there were more Bens in our office than women. Now it’s 67 per cent women.”
Participants at JLC's International Women's Day (Photo: Mark Thomas)[Missing Credit]
Earlier in the day, keynote speaker international business owner Linda Plant shared her journey with around 60 participants, from starting out as a market stall holder at 15 to becoming a successful entrepreneur, with appearances on The Apprentice.
Her advice to people wanting to climb the career ladder was: “Always say, ‘Yes’ and then work it out afterwards. Once you’ve said ‘No’, the door is closed, and an opportunity is gone.”
Attendees at the event at Hendon and Edgware Reform also took part in interactive sessions run by Jewish Women’s Aid, KeshetUK and Jewish Care, who held sessions on policy versus culture, acts of allyship and parental transitioning respectively.
Some of the audience raised the question as to why there weren’t more men at the event.
An interactive session JLC International Women's Day (Photo: Mark Thomas)[Missing Credit]
Ashley Lerner, CEO of Maccabi GB, said: “I don’t have the answer as to why there are only three or four men here today. People like us need to go back and encourage more men to come.”
Nicole Valens, who is head of social work at AJR, told the JC that she had enjoyed attending her first JLC International Women’s Day conference, saying: “It’s been really good to get together with so many other women in the industry and to hear inspiring things.”
In a joint statement after the event, the Jewish Leadership Council’s head of programmes Laurence Rosenthal and head of operations Natasha Glass said: “We were delighted to once again host an inspirational day marking International Women’s Day.
“The community is very fortunate to have so many amazing women in positions that directly impact their respective organisations and their service users.”
