One of the most difficult issues facing Modern or Centrist Orthodox Jews today is the question of how to increase and encourage the participation of more women in leadership roles, while also working within the halachic parameters that set limits on how extensive those leadership roles are allowed to be. When we add two thousand years of socialization where women’s leadership was quite rare, along with the reality that advanced Torah education for women is a relatively new phenomenon, we should not be surprised that there is a very real glass ceiling that cannot easily be broken.
Joanne Greenaway encourages women to assume leadership positions both for their own sake, and for the betterment of the wider Orthodox world. In her role as the Chief Executive of the London School of Jewish Studies, one of the United Kingdom’s oldest and most venerated Jewish institutions, and as the Director of Get Cases at the London Beit Din, she has simultaneously learned how to work within existing institutions, while challenging the status quo when necessary. Joanne and Scott discussed the necessity of diverse leadership in general and female leadership in particular, and addressed the fact that women are necessarily limited by Jewish law in terms of what roles they are allowed to fill, and what titles they are allowed to assume. They also talked about the halachic category of “serara” and how she understands it, how halachic authorities work in tandem with social realities, the problem of women having their motivations questioned, the need for male allies and her hopes for the future. Most apparent, however, was her evident optimism, looking at the many opportunities available rather than at the potential limitations, and believing that the future for Jewish women is bright indeed.
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