World Day of Social Justice

Thirteen years ago, the United Nations General Assembly voted unanimously to adopt February 20th as the World Day of Social Justice. The purpose of the resolution was “the need to consolidate further the efforts of the international community in poverty eradication and in promoting full employment and decent work, gender equality and access to social well-being and justice for all.” The Jewish Women’s Foundation was founded on those same values, while working to challenge the institutional barriers reinforcing those issues to assist in achieving gender equality, recognizing the need in the Jewish community.

As noted by the General Assembly, the considerable obstacles of employment insecurity, poverty, exclusion, and inequality globally, stressed the need for help to achieve progress and social justice in the context of globalization. JWFNY answers the call everyday by utilizing grantmaking, education, and advocacy, while providing support to organizations led by Jewish women social entrepreneurs whose programs address intractable problems facing women and girls not just in New York, but throughout the United States, in Israel and around the world. So on this day, February 20th, we can take a moment to recognize that those of us fighting for social justice in our own arenas, organizations, or coalitions, are not alone in this fight.