I often wonder why women have not achieved equality by the year 2007. The members of my gender like to blame it on the Y chromosome. Here in Israel, we blame it on the macho culture.
Recent events have illuminated another possibility closer to home. Women are often their own worst enemies. This phenomenon is not unique to Israel. I saw it in Washington first. During the first Clinton years, I had the privilege of working with the first White House Office of Women. I envisioned that I would be a pink caped crusader for women’s rights; instead my function was to separate women from their money for campaign donations.
When the intern scandal erupted into the headlines, I departed because I could not understand how any self respecting women could continue to support Bill Clinton. I was obviously wrong because the National Organization of Women (NOW) and its long time president Patricia Ireland stayed in his corner. NOW refused to exploit this perfect opportunity to get on the soapbox and speak out against sexual harassment. When I finally confronted Ms. Ireland, she sheepishly admitted that they had stayed silent to protect a women’s right to abortion.
Of course abortion rights are important. But women cannot continue to prisoners of their uterus. Sexual harassment and rape have always been the neglected stepsisters of the feminist’s movement. No one, not even the president of NOW, wants to deal with this emotionally charged issue.
It is a shame that so much attention has been paid to abortion, because the right to have an abortion only affects a small minority of women, while the vast majority of women have either been raped or sexually harassed on the job. A woman is raped every two seconds in the United States. Women will only achieve real equality when they have physical safety and economic freedom.
11 years later, women of Digital Eve Israel have shown me that women have not progressed at all on this issue. Israeli women are up in arms about maternity leave but want to bury their head in the sand and pretend that rape and sexual harassment do not exist. There is a rampant fear among women that if we fight for more than one feminist issue at a time that we will lose both wars. By the year 2007, I believe that society has evolved enough to handle both.
According to its website, Digital Eve is “the women's high tech networking organization. Membership is free. Only posts related to women in high-tech or women in careers in Israel will be allowed through.” In this uniquely Israeli phenomenon, active virtual communities and organizations have sprung up. Women do not simply receive the Digital Eve email List. Over 1000 women are members of an exclusive club that anyone can join. Digital Eve is led by Leemor Machnai and Susan Fisher.
As someone actively involved with the Tel Aviv rape crisis center, I thought it only natural to post on a list of professional women the twice a year events of the rape center designer clothing bazaar and a concert. Imagine my surprise when I encountered a rejection because the subject of rape was off topic for a list of women in high tech. One Neanderthal moderator told me, “Rape has nothing to do with women in the workplace.” Since this discussion was occurring at the same time as President Katsav’s plea bargain was being challenged at the Supreme Court, I can only assume that this woman did not read the newspapers, watch television or listen to the radio.(Katsav was accused of sexual crimes by a variety of women that worked for him). In my attempts to understand the logic behind the rejection, I was crucified for asking if it was due to religious sensitivities.
I have to respectfully disagree with the committee and their Stepford wife attitude. Just like in Ira Levin’s Stepford, the women on the Digital Eve (DEVA) committee are working overtime to eliminate anything ugly from the list. Pretending rape does not exist does not stop it from happening. In the year 2004, 32,737 calls were received at the national hotline of the rape crisis centers in Israel.
Besides inviting people to the event, my post provided a valuable service to the entire community. Rape victims seeing the post would sometimes contact me for assistance. Sometimes the posts prompted people to volunteer or donate to the center. Marketing professionals called me on behalf of their clients and companies. Many marketing people see community involvement as good business.
The post about the clothing bazaar also has a practical benefit. On limited budgets, looking professional at the office can be a challenge for many women. The designer clothing bazaar offers women a chance to buy clothes at an extraordinary savings. While my posts were being crucified for irrelevance, Joan was allowed to argue, “Prostitution can be a better career for women that secretarial work.” Some of the women tried to organize on the list a nude calendar for women in hi tech in Israel. One woman wrote, “I want to pose for the nude calendar because I want to feel sexy.” I could not believe that this comment was written by a woman in high tech and not Britney Spears. I could no longer feel good about myself if I am associated, however loosely, with women that do not actively support the rape crisis centers. How can we expect men to care about the subject of rape or sexual harassment if we don’t?
As always, Groucho Marx was right. “I don’t want to be a member of a club that will accept me as a member.”
The designer clothing bazaar to benefit the rape crisis center is Friday and Saturday, December 21 and 22, at Ganei Taaruha (TA Exhibition Grounds).
Laura Goldman worked on Wall Street for over twenty years for such firms as Merrill Lynch and UBS Warburg. She now runs her own investment advisory, LSG capital, from Tel Aviv. She is an independent commentator, and her views do not necessarily represent those of "Globes".
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on December 20, 2007
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