So today brings the introduction of a new feature that I'll run periodically on the blog, "The Daily Israeli," in which I'll chat with some of the interesting folks I've encountered here in Israel. First up is Ran Melamed, Deputy Director for Communication and Social Policy at YEDID. Suffice it say that Ran has made a career out of advocating for social change, and you can check out a brief bio of him here. On a more personal note, Ran is an all around awesome guy who has been instrumental to me in my quest to learn more about this fascinating country and its people. Ran was also the person who suggested that I start this blog, when I had absolutely zero intention of doing so. So he is someone who I owe a great deal of thanks.
When I approached Ran about an interview for the blog last week, he volunteered himself, and proposed that we talk about what it's like for him working in a female dominated environment. That angle surprised me somewhat, as I hadn't really considered the range of issues he might face in such a position. But what I quickly found out, much to my delight, is that Mr. Melamed loves the ladies. Our interview after the jump...
Explain what your role at YEDID entails?
First of all I think its important to know that I started at YEDID as a volunteer. After something like 10 months or so I became a board member of YEDID. After something like 3 months I decided to quit my job, and I came to Sari (YEDID's executive director) and I told her that I have enough savings to last me for 6 months, and I am donating myself to YEDID as a full-time job for 6 months. And when the time was up I told her that I am supposed to be leaving and she said "No no wait, we need a deputy director and maybe you want to do the job." So my role in YEDID is still doing press, but I'm in charge of one of the three legs that YEDID is standing on, which is the lobbying and the social policy and the policy change. And on top of that I'm dealing with community organizing, which is basically doing policy change. What we're doing there is we're changing the laws according to what we see from our clients in the field, we teach about a few initiatives that will help our clients upgrade themselves or empower themselves from the bottom up.
How did you become involved in this line of work and how did this come to be your passion?
Looking back it seems that it's been implanted in me. I don't know why and how but it was there. Policy change was something I did all the time, doing publicity and PR. And one day I met this wonderful organizer from the states, and she came with the idea of YEDID doing something with community organizing. And I said listen, I don't know anything about community organizing, I'm not interested in that. I know how to teach people what I'm doing, I know how to give tools in order for people to make change, but I don't know how to take a group of people and turn them into a working group with influence on their environment. So we started 4 groups of community organizing. Once every 2 weeks I came to give tools, and once every 2 weeks she came to do empowerment. And eventually she finished her doctorate and left to the the states, and I was left alone doing the organizing myself. And I think the passion came from a place that, it's great to see people who are learning and doing things for themselves and succeeding in it, this is really something very unique that really makes you happy. So step by step it became my passion.
In my brief experience with the centers, there seem to be a lot of programs geared towards women, or that mostly women are taking advantage of. Would you agree and if so why do you think this is the case?
First of all YEDID is not a womens' organization, but it's an organization that most of the people who work there are women. And when I'm often asked why do you choose women over men, I gladly say because women are better, and I really feel that way. No question about it. I don't think we choose that, as a purpose to be with women, but we know that women are the weakest link in Israel's society. So if YEDID is working with the weakest link, almost automatically, a huge part of that are women. Men are stupid and shy, sorry to say that. Men cannot find themselves in the place that there's something wrong, and they go with their heads up high and they say okay, I want to fix that. Women do that. But you know, maybe it's because most of the people in YEDID are women. If they see always women, and our project manager is a woman, and most of the center managers are women, so I think it's quite obvious - why women.
Do you think that women are on equal footing with men in Israeli society in terms of social rights? Does YEDID need to take any specific steps to address any gaps?
There isn't equality, and let's start with that. I've been working for the last 3 years with the commission on equality at work, in the ministry of work and trade, in order to do workshops for women in workplaces to tell them about their rights as women workers. We've been doing community organizing with women from the Arab sector and Nazareth, to make them understand that if their bosses are trying to pay them less than minimum wage, it's wrong, it's illegal, and they must change it. I think that by giving women knowledge, by giving them information about their social rights, and helping them receive those rights, I think this is a great empowerment that makes equality in the end.
Do you feel that your presence as a male in female dominated NGO presents any unique challenges or advantages?
It's scary. I have to watch myself every minute not to say something chauvinistic or that might get me in trouble. For example, in May I'm doing a workshop for 34 single mothers in a hotel. They have a full seminar on learning to use the tools of social change. And it's going to be me and them, 48 hours. This is scary. These are women who know what they want, they are not afraid to say it, you cannot push them around, some of them were battered women in the past, now they're empowered, this is something that really makes you scared. But I really believe that women are stronger than men in a lot of cases, and they can make it happen. So I feel a responsibility from one end, and pride from the other, that I have the opportunity to do that.
No comments:
Post a Comment