Democratizing British-Jewish Philanthropy: The Union of Jewish Women (1902–1930)

This article explores the origins and evolution of the Union of Jewish Women (UJW), formed after the 1902 London Conference of Jewish Women. The women who founded and led the UJW resented their exclusion from positions of influence in the Jewish community and lobbied Jewish organizations to place women in leadership roles.

Studying the UJW, Britain’s first national Jewish women’s organization, sheds light on issues of interest to women. The UJW was committed to bringing women’s perspectives to matters of importance to the Jewish community and beyond. In response to social and political changes ensuing from World War I, suffrage and new professional openings for women, the UJW reviewed its structure and concluded that it needed to expand and democratize in order to maintain its relevance. Ultimately, new and competing opportunities, concerns by potential member organizations about autonomy, and a restricted notion of democratization impeded the UJW in its efforts to become the representative organization of British Jewish women.