Ma'yan: The Jewish Women's Project
Our Work
Koach Banot: Girl Power!
Ma'yan's girl-centered initiative, Koach Banot: Girl Power!, operates in three distinct, but overlapping program areas: training, education and advocacy.
Training
Ma'yan offers training workshops and institutes to strengthen the capacity and build the skill sets of educators, camp counselors, youth group advisors, guidance counselors, and other professionals who work with Jewish youth. What makes our approach unique is the centrality of examining the role of gender in shaping adolescent development in both formal and informal educational settings.
In October 2007 Ma'yan hosted Strong Voices, Critical Choices: A Training Institute for Jewish Youth Professionals, co-sponsored by JEXNET, The Foundation for Jewish Camping, Moving Traditions, and the JCC Association. Attended by nearly fifty Jewish youth professionals working in both single-sex and co-ed settings and leading Jewish women philanthropists, the conference addressed a variety of issues, including: helping girls to become effective social change agents; capitalizing on "teachable moments;" exploring the challenges that leadership may pose for girls; and applying a gender lens in a co-ed setting. In addition to a keynote address by Dr. Catherine Steiner-Adair, a psychologist and expert on girls' development and eating disorders, the conference featured a panel of Ma'yan Research Training Interns - seven Jewish teen girls who presented the results of their original survey examining the lives of American Jewish teen girls.
Advocacy
Through consultations with Jewish girls and their adult allies, Ma'yan serves as a voice for Jewish girls bringing their priorities, needs, and concerns to the attention of the broader community. Ma'yan staff members speak and write on these issues for wide-ranging audiences of Jewish and secular professionals, parents, scholars, and other constituents. Recent advocacy activities have included speaking on a panel at the Jewish Funders Network International Conference and publishing articles (either about Ma'yan's activities or by Ma'yan staff) in the Jewish press. Staff members also collaborate with and provide assistance to like-minded organizations: serving on advisory boards, reviewing curricula and adapting program materials for use in the Jewish community, etc.
Education
Ma'yan serves as a resource for organizations interested in identifying excellent programs for girls. We maintain an annotated docket of programs reviewed by the Ma'yan staff; the docket is available for distribution throughout the Jewish community. Ma'yan staff have worked to incorporate Jewish content into existing programs and have piloted programs in Jewish settings.
Ma'yan is also available for consultation with individuals and organizations, to evaluate existing programs for gender sensitivity and to serve more broadly as a resource for those who want to increase the gender sensitivity of their programs and materials.
↑ Return to Top ↑