UIA women’s division talks to Ayelet and Liat Shaked
When speaking about her journey into politics, she said it was her mother who "really pushed me hard and always made me to believe that I can do anything".
“It’s not women, it’s Netanyahu,” said Ayelet Shaked when asked how women can help bring Israelis together in the wake of the protests in Israel, during the United Israel Appeal (UIA) Women’s Division supper last week.
Ayelet, who is a former Israeli minister of justice and minister of the interior, told those gathered that her role model growing up was the former prime minister of Israel Yitzhak Shamir, as well as “like every little girl,” her mother.
When speaking about her journey into politics, she said it was her mother who “really pushed me hard and always made me to believe that I can do anything”.
She shared that it was a “brave step” to leave her position as a computer engineer to run for open primaries with the Jewish Home Party, but she explained that she “always felt that [she wanted] to do something meaningful”.
Ayelet shared that during this time many people questioned her actions, saying, “you are a women, you are not religious, no one will elect you,” however she could not be deterred, as she “fully believed”, in what she was doing, “and it was huge success”.
Gender equality activist and CEO of Supersonas, Liat Shaked was the other guest speaker at the event, and told the audience that when she was younger, “I didn’t feel that I was missing anything, I didn’t feel like I needed an organisation to promote me – and then I grew up.”
Her organisation, Supersonas, aims to create a balanced presence of women at all decision-making levels and leadership positions in Israel and worldwide.
She said, “I realised that my salary is still lower than my husband’s salary, and we both have crazy careers.”
While addressing the “room full of powerful women and men”, Liat, who is also the sister-in-law of Ayelet said, “We are at a point where we can change the situation now, we are in positions that we can make the world a better place for our daughters, and this is our responsibility.”
While a small group of protesters gathered outside, Ayelet spoke about the gender disparity in the Israeli government.
“In Israel there are 25 per cent women Knesset members in the parliament, and around 20 per cent in the government, and when I was the minister of justice, I was the only woman in security cabinet, sometimes I would sit with 40 men in the room.”
She told the audience, “We still have a way to go.”
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