TORONTO— Over the past five years, Jewish Women International of Canada has reinvented itself.
Laura Martin
The final step of that transformation took place last November, when its governance was taken over by a board of directors, said Penny Krowitz, JWI/C executive director.
The process began a number of years ago, said Krowitz, when JWI/C recognized that the landscape had changed for membership organizations.
“Young women were leading different lives than their mothers and grandmothers had. The young women were not as committed to organizational life. This was not just a Jewish phenomenon or a women’s phenomenon. It was North American-wide.”
She said that young women, especially, had many valid reasons for not participating. “At one time, women joined organizations because they needed outside stimulation. Now, young women are working and don’t have the time.”
With that in mind, said Krowitz, the organization began a strategic planning process designed to envision the future of JWI. “It was a difficult process and very emotional. We had to be brutally honest about our strengths and weaknesses, discard what didn’t work and adopt new ways.
“We changed the organization from an internally focused membership organization to an externally focused social-change organization, with membership.”
She said members recognized that a lot of work was needed in the area of violence against women and, for the past five years, have focused all their resolutions on this issue.
The concept behind having a board of directors, she said, is that the board is made up of women from across Canada, who may or may not be involved in the organization – previously the national executive was made up of members – and who all have an interest in ending violence against women.
“They bring to the table their interest in the issue, their professional experience, and their contacts and connections.”
Krowitz said that JWI members were kept informed throughout the entire process, and they were invited to participate. “We also needed, however, broad community involvement, and we wanted a geographic representation.”
Currently, she said, there are four board members – Jill Leiberman from Montreal; Laura Martin from Calgary, and Sandra Posluns and Carole Tanenbaum from Toronto – and the group is looking to expand to 10 members.
JWI also has a national leadership council made up of members and supporters across Canada, she said. “The board of directors determines and sets policies, fundraises and manages the affairs of the organization. The leadership council implements the programming.”
