Yonni Sidelsky

We are proud and excited to share the news of a joint project between Dr. Cheryl Saban and the Cheryl Saban Self-Worth Foundation for Women and Girls (Self-Worth Foundation) and Kol Israel Haverim in Netanya: The Cheryl Saban Self-Worth Foundation’s Cracking the Glass Ceiling Program.

Cracking The Glass Ceiling" (Sodkot in Hebrew) is a unique program that is a designed to promote young women in science and math studies. In conjunction with the municipality" of Netanya, the program was launched two years ago in the city. With the support of Dr. Saban, an esteemed philanthropist and social advocate for gender equality, over 300 young women in Grades 8-10 will now receive STEM education in 6 schools in the Netanya area.

Throughout the year, these young women will receive extra-curricular support, gender empowerment seminars and mentoring from women at high-tech companies like Google, IBM and Microsoft.

Additionally, the young women in the program will participate in special sessions partially funded and organized by the Afeka College of Engineering. Each week, participants will visit the College and participate in workshops designed and guided by Afeka engineering students focusing on STEM education through a unique and interactive approach.

The first of these field trips to Afeka took place on November 10 and marked the start of the project for this school year. It included a welcome speech by two female engineering students who shared their stories about how, against all odds, they achieved success in the world of science and technology. The young women then participated in two workshops: one on the designing of phone applications and the other on the physics and engineering of building airplanes. The trip was a success, leaving the young women hungry for more.

It is exciting to note that this is only the tip of the iceberg and there are many wonderful activities to come throughout the year.