Principal Achievements in 2006
· Passing of the law for the establishment of an equal employment opportunities commission (E.E.O.C.).– A bill initiated and drafted by the IWN, was approved in the 16th Knesset. IWN’s legal department promoted the law with the objective of establishing a Commission for Equal Employment Opportunities. After two years of extensive legal and lobby work in the Knesset the law was approved and the Commission is to be established by the 31st of December 2006.For the first time in Israel a Commission will be established to battle against discrimination and enforce existing laws regarding discrimination in the workplace. We at IWN are positive that the Commission will bring about social change, raise public awareness to the issues of discrimination and promote equality and justice within workplaces in Israel. IWN, as a Feminist organization, views social justice as part of its goals and hence the importance of the E.E.O.C. seeing as the Commission will serve not only women but also defeat discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, race, religion, nationality, age etc. IWN intends to do everything in its power to take an active part in the establishment of the Commission.The IWN sees the establishment of the Commission as a major achievement.
· Court Ruling Against the Firing of Pregnant Women - The Labor Court in the case of Abebito Enalem awarded a woman who was fired from the manpower company she worked for during her 7th month of pregnancy NIS 85,000. Manager of the legal department, Adv. Tziona Koenig Yair represented Abebito Enalem. Following the extensive publicity of the case in the media, IWN received over 200 complaints of women who suffered discrimination in the workplace.
· IWN wins UN Affiliation- The IWN was one of three Israeli organizations granted UN affiliation. This recognition provides the IWN credibility as an established organization, global contact with the UN’s NGO networks and access to the UN committee meetings, conferences and the like.
· IWN also successfully requested to receive consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council (EcoSoc). Recently granted, this status will allow the IWN, to appear before the UN’s committees. One area of activity that IWN will certainly take part in is the meetings relating to the CEDAW treaty (Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women) – one of the 7 major human rights treaties. Israel is committed to this treaty, which obligates the State of Israel to submit periodic reports to CEDAW’s Committee. CEDAW’s main functions are to examine State Party reports regarding discrimination against women and assess compliance with the treaty provisions. The committees take into account information from many different sources, including NGOs that hold a consultative status. The information received from the NGO’s supply the Committee with a different perspective than that presented by the State Party. Subsequently, the Committee can raise specific questions to the State party on the contents of the report.
· Operating joint Arab and Jewish women’s leadership groups – This new project was carried out as a pilot program in the Galilee area (Tiberius and Nazareth) and turned out to be highly successful, subsequently leading to a large demand. The project successfully resumed in the Mate’ Yehuda region and is planned to begin operating in the southern Sharon region and in Jerusalem.
· Expanding the Nemesh Project (Leadership and Empowerment Training Program for 10th grade female and male high school students) – The number of groups undergoing the program increased substantially. The project received wonderful feedback from all the factors involved (students, school staff and observers). The project entered massively into the Arab educational system and operated among groups of young women. Subsequently the schools asked to adapt the program to male students in the Arab education system.
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