The Forum for Gender, Law and Policy – Research & Study
Noya Rimalt is a Professor of Law at the University of Haifa and the founding co-director of the Forum for gender law and policy. Her scholarship examines the intersections of gender, law, and feminism in both legal theory and practice. She has written numerous articles on issues such as female offenders; sexual harassment; gender, religion, and multiculturalism; women in the military; female conscientious objectors; work-family issues; political empowerment of women; reproductive rights; and gender equality in the workplace. Her book “Legal Feminism from Theory to Practice: The Struggle for Gender Equality in Israel and the United States,” published in 2010, serves as a basic textbook in law and feminism courses.
Prof. Rimalt joined the University of Haifa Law Faculty after serving as the founding director of the first civil rights legal clinic in Israel. In recent years she was a visiting professor at Georgetown University, and American University and a scholar at residence at the University of Toronto and the Hadassah Brandeis Institute. She regularly advises the Knesset Committee on the Status of Women. A bill amending abortion law in Israel, drafted by Prof. Rimalt, is currently under preliminary consideration in the Knesset.
Shulamit Almog is a Full Professor of Law at the University of Haifa, where she serves as Presidential Adviser for Gender Equality and Head of the Gender Equality Unit at the University of Haifa. Her research interests include law and literature, law and culture, and feminist legal studies. Prof. Almog has published numerous books and articles in US, Canadian, European and Israeli law reviews, focusing on sexuality and law, prostitution, and women in army. Her work has inspired bills on workplace mobbing and gender neutral language. In addition to her research, she is publicly active in human rights issues. She has repeatedly appeared before the Israeli Knesset, drafted sections of Israel’s report to the UN on the International Convention on Children’s Rights, has participated in the committee to reform Israel’s adoption law, and serves as a member of the selection committee for the National Award for Combating Trafficking in Persons.
Prof. Almog is deeply committed to the application of research to promote social justice, and believes that a rigorous intellectual framework, focused on the power of narrative, can inform policy in these areas in an impactful manner that creates genuine improvements to people’s lives. In recent years her research has focused on law and narrative, and the pivotal role of narrative in the quest for social change and paradigm shifting.
“Make your voice heard”- The Testimonies Project
Today, every woman who wishes to terminate an unwanted pregnancy is required to submit a request to a public committee consisting of two doctors and a social worker for permission to have an abortion. As part of the Forum’s efforts to gain a better understanding of women’s experiences in the abortion approval process, the Forum invited women to share stories of their encounters with the Pregnancy Termination Committees. A wide range of testimonies have been collected as part of this project. These testimonies shed light on how humiliation and degradation are inherent to the abortion approval process that forces women to beg for their bodies from a committee of three strangers. The Forum shared these personal accounts and the data collected from these testimonies with the relevant officials in the Ministry of Health for the purpose of re-examining the law’s procedural mechanism. In response to this information and additional activities of Prof. Noya Rimalt and the Forum in collaboration with a coalition of feminist organizations, the Ministry of Health announced its intention to promote significant procedural changes in the operation of the Pregnancy Termination Committees that would ease abortion access and hopefully make it a bit more dignified.
Research Grants for Proposals on Gender Equality
The Forum offers research grants for original research proposals on gender equality and holds annual workshops to present selected proposals. In 2021, the Forum granted NIS 25,000 to five selected proposals that focused on gender equality in the labor market. In 2022, the Forum granted NIS 17,500 to five selected proposals that focused on gender equity in academia. The Forum will host two roundtable discussions in 2023-2024 to share the findings and knowledge gained by the winning researchers.
European Research Project to Promote Voices of Young Researchers in Decision-Making Roles
Members of the Forum are taking part in a European research project – Making Young Researchers’ Voices Heard for Gender Equality. Among other things, the project aims to promote the involvement of young women in decision making in academic institutions and other organizations.
The project addresses a variety of topics, such as leadership, decision-making, gender research, sexual harassment, cultural organizations, career development, and employment mobility. The Forum’s representatives participated in the cost virtual meetings held in 2022, and in the international conferences held in Vilnius in June 2022 and in Malta in February 2023.
Joint International Research Project in the Field of Gender Equity
The Forum for Gender, Law, and Policy held on January 2023 an international workshop on Gender Equity in Academia.
In a unique and first-of-its-kind workshop in Israel, participants from the U.K., the U.S., Europe, and Israel spoke about Up-to-date challenges, theories, and dilemmas regarding gender equity in Academia.
The discussion and various presentations focused on the continuous gap between men and women at higher academic levels, the lack of sufficient women in academic management positions, and the unique obstacles women still face, including implicit bias, lack of gender mainstreaming, and institutional gendered ethos.
The workshop was attended by researchers who play important roles in the field of gender equity in academia in Israel, which contributed to an engaging discussion. This workshop provided a venue for a diverse discourse, for establishing connections among the participants, and for collaborations between the University of Haifa and leading academic institutions worldwide.
The second event “Combating Gender-Based Violence” took place at 3-6 July 2023 at the University Lille (France)
Round Table with the awards winners for Research on Gender Equality in the Labor Market
The Forum awarded grants to five research proposals dealing with the promotion of gender equality in the Israeli labor market in 2021. A roundtable was held at the University of Haifa on March 14, 2023, to honor the winning researchers. These studies, which provide new and significant knowledge, operative recommendations, and practical tools for changing the Israeli labor market, are important for planning and designing an equitable and high-quality workplace.