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Gender Equality

From the very beginning members of Kibbutz Lotan sought to create a society based on equality between the sexes. There are many areas in which one can examine our success in acheiving this ideal.

Leadership: In this area, Lotan can be proud of its attempts. Of the four major leadership jobs, there has been an equal representation. At the time of writing, the General Secretary and Business Manager are both women and the Treasurer is a man. Two years ago this was the opposite way round.

Work

The heads of our economic and services branches also seem to represent both genders. There are, today, less women working in agriculture and less men in children's education, although in the past this has not been the case. Is this a trend for the future? None of us hold a crystal ball.

Judaism

In any part of our spiritual expression, there has always been strict equality. Women as well as men lead services, read and carry the Torah, and lead Study sessions. For us this has evolved as a natural pattern within our communal lifestyle.

Family Life

How each couple divide the responsibilities in their home is unique. Lotan gives legitimacy to any division that a family decides. For example, after a woman gives birth, the couple are given three months ma/paternity leave. Often the man will take a week or two and stay at home, enabling the couple to make the transition into becoming a family a full bonding experience for both parents. He can ease the physical burden on the new mother and the baby receives a clear message from the very beginning - both parents are taking an integral part in his/her upbringing.

It is quite acceptable in the work branches for a man to be unable to do extra shifts because he has to be with his children, perhaps because his partner is working overtime in her branch.

Projects

Over the years there have been attempts to develop our gender roles outside of definitions that society imposes upon us. Equality of the sexes can never be taken for granted, even in a small community where it is easy to ignore the greater society. Religion and the Army are two institutions that provide a continual example of how society defines our roles. As the community moves more and more to being family centered, gender roles are more likely to become rigidified. This is an area in which we are challenged to maintain our ideals in the face of "easy" solutions.

At different times, Lotan has held Woman's Study sessions or Men's Groups. Increasingly, at such events as Bachelor/ess parties, creative ceremonies and rituals have been invented for the changing cycles of life, giving expression of the event through the unique eyes of each respective gender.

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Kibbutz Lotan, D.N. Hevel Eilot 88855 Israel; Tel: +972 8 6356888; Fax +972 8 6356927