All of the Maccabi World Union (MWU) elected volunteer positions and professional appointments are gender-blind. This applies at all levels of Maccabi World Union, from the president of the organization to the youngest youth counselor.

MWU’s tradition of gender equality can be traced back to the founding of the movement. In fact, women comprised a significant percentage of the first Maccabiah Organizing Committees in the 1930s and two women are listed amongst the 14 founders of Kfar Maccabiah, the MWU headquarters in Israel.

As part of our effort to promote gender equality, we try to eliminate gender distinctions in all internal MWU discourse. For example, while we continue to use titles such as Professor or Rabbi, we refrain from referring to our members by the common titles of Mr., Mrs. Ms., etc.

In 2000, MWU elected its first female president, Jeanne Futeran of Cape Town, South Africa. Although Jeanne is the first female president, she is by no means the only female in the movement’s upper echelons. There are a number of female presidents and chairpersons among the Maccabi Territorial Organization leadership, and women hold numerous positions throughout our organization, including heading many MWU committees and internal departments.

MWU promotes gender equality in its sports programs as well as its administrative structure. As the largest sports association in Israel, Maccabi Israel (a MWU Confederation) has a unique opportunity to promote sports amongst the country’s female population. This includes not only Israel’s Jewish population but its Arab population as well, promoting sports for young women in even the most traditional Arab villages, where such activity is often frowned upon.

Although Maccabi faces numerous cultural challenges, we continue to persist and there are now four female Arab soccer referees amongst the 24+ female soccer referees who oversee pro-soccer league matches. In another sign of progress, the first gold medal of the 2005 Maccabiah was won by a female Arab swimmer.

As the generations pass, MWU has become more successful at integrating women into its sports programs, so while its programs for older athletes tend to attract a majority of male athletes, its Junior divisions are split almost 50-50 between men and women.