The 2019 Sklare Address: How Gender and Family Still Matter for Contemporary Jewry

Family has resurfaced in many ways as its contemporary face has changed, often challenging the transmission of Jewry in traditional ways. Gender fluidity and equality had nearly camouflaged the contribution of gender to the transmission of Jewry for a majority of the American Jewish population, at least. But revelations of persisting and underlying gendered patterns beyond the family have alerted us to its particular dynamic, which itself has multiple implications for family as well as institutional life. In this address, we will discuss the changes that are occurring and their implications, as well as research implications, drawing on previous research and approaches that the Sklare awardee has taken and is taking.