Jewish Women International (JWI) is born in 1897 as Ruth Lodge No. 1, the Daughters of Judah, B’nai B’rith’s first auxiliary, just as 19th century women are beginning to emerge from the home and into the public sphere.

By 1909, the first permanent B’nai Brith Women (BBW) group is founded in San Francisco to “promote sociability,” but members soon turn their attention to volunteer activities that can improve the community around them.

During World War I, members do their patriotic duty rolling bandages, nursing in military hospitals, and providing hospitality to the troops.

By 1920, while women’s right to vote is won, BBW is still denied official recognition by B’nai B’rith - yet they begin to take a stand on issues they care about. In 1927, their interest in serving young girls inspires junior auxiliaries that become B’nai B’rith Girls.

The women’s groups start their own fund for the relief of Jews in Europe, an effort that gains momentum as Nazi persecution grows.

By 1940, BBW drops the term “auxiliary” in favor of chapters and elects its first national president, Judge Lenore Underwood Mills of San Francisco.

In this era of women’s emancipation, the women’s group achieves the recognition of B’nai B’rith Girls as a national organization on par with Aleph Zadik Aleph (AZA), the B’nai B’rith boys’ group.

With the start of World War II, BBW members work diligently for the war effort.

The young survivors of the Holocaust who arrive in Palestine after their wartime trauma find care and opportunity to heal at the Children’s Home in Jerusalem, a facility for which BBW assumes full responsibility. BBW chapters raise millions of dollars to support the home, now known as The Jerusalem Hills Therapeutic Centers.

By the early 1950s, BBW has come into its own as a vibrant organization with an independent agenda. BBW purchases land in Israel and builds a new facility for the Children’s Home.

In 1951, BBW introduces its own national newspaper, “Women’s World.” In 1953, for the first time, women delegates vote at the B’nai B’rith convention.

BBW joins forces with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) to introduce the Dolls for Democracy program, which tells the stories of historic changemakers to teach young children tolerance and inspire them to create change in our democratic society.

BBW answers President John Kennedy’s call for a “new frontier” by speaking out for civil rights, working to combat illiteracy and poverty, and advocating on behalf of housing for senior citizens.

Through Operation Stork, a first-of-its-kind program undertaken with the March of Dimes, members work to educate lower-income women about the importance of prenatal care.

BBW then funds the construction of a major new addition at the Children’s Home in Jerusalem.

In the late 1960s, and continuing into the ‘70s and ‘80s, BBW’s focus shifts toward activism in the women’s movement. In 1972, BBW becomes the first Jewish organization to back the Equal Rights Amendment and in 1968, five years before Roe v. Wade, BBW calls for laws to protect women from having to seek illegal abortions - a right to which the organization holds firm to this day.

BBW takes stands on such issues as pay equity, family and medical leave, teen pregnancy, women’s and infants’ health care, and displaced homemakers. They also speak out on behalf of the Soviet Union’s embattled Jewish community, serving as a convener for the Women’s Plea for Soviet Jewry.

In July 1988, a 41-year-old BBW member in Gaithersburg, Md., is shot and killed by her estranged husband. This shocking murder spurs the organization to break the silence about domestic abuse in the Jewish community.

By the late 1980s, BBW’s growth as an organization devoted to its own agenda of programs and concerns sets the stage for a shift in its historic relationship with B’nai B’rith.

In 1990, BBW and B’nai B’rith reach a formal agreement that recognizes BBW as an independent organization, affiliated with B’nai B’rith - but five years later BBW declares its full independence by changing its name to Jewish Women International (JWI).

In keeping with its new identity, JWI establishes its award-winning national magazine, Jewish Woman.

A widespread JWI study of attitudes about interfaith marriage leads to a book for Jewish grandparents wishing to pass their Jewish heritage on to grandchildren from interfaith marriages.

JWI launches the Prejudice Awareness Summit, a program that reaches thousands of middle school students in cities throughout the U.S.

JWI’s domestic abuse education and awareness activities grow in communities across the U.S.

In 2001, JWI hosts the first of what will become its signature annual event – the Women to Watch gala luncheon and awards ceremony, honoring 10 Jewish women making an impact on their communities, their professions, and the world.

Beginning in 2003, JWI organizes three bi-annual International Conferences on Domestic Abuse in the Jewish Community, gathering the community for intensive training and planning in person, while rabbis and cantors from every Jewish denomination join forces virtually in the JWI-coordinated National Clergy Task Force on Domestic Abuse. JWI also creates the National Alliance Against Domestic Abuse, which offers monthly training webinars for professionals in the domestic violence field.

When Push Comes to Shove, It’s No Longer Love! – JWI’s toolkit and documentary to guide older teens and young adults into healthy relationships – debuts in 2006, followed by Strong Girls and Good Guys series on healthy relationships for younger teens.

JWI’s National Library Initiative continues working to create 100 children’s libraries in domestic violence shelters across the U.S., while the Life$avings® financial literacy series – first for young women, later adapted for teens and for women over 50 – is developed to empower women to become financially self-sufficient and manage their money for a lifetime.

In early 2008, JWI convenes the Interfaith Domestic Violence Coalition with more than three dozen organizations across the spectrum of faith.

In 2009, a new facility for JWI’s Children’s Home in Israel opens.

Starting in 2010 JWI expands its advocacy network to engage a broad community of activists committed to violence prevention, reproductive choice, women’s health, and economic security.

In 2012, JWI lays the groundwork for a new Young Leadership initiative to create a network of young, professional Jewish women and build a pipeline to the next generation of women leaders.

JWI's inaugural Young Women’s Leadership Conference is held in 2013, giving hundreds of young professional women an opportunity to both network with one another and be mentored by accomplished Women to Watch honorees.

In 2014, in partnership with SDT sorority and ZBT fraternity, innovative SafeSmartDating healthy relationship workshops are piloted on college campuses, followed by the Green Light Go initiative, launched at George Washington University in 2015, to promote consent and address the pervasive college culture of sexual violence. Also in 2014, JWI introduces Boy to Mentsch – a first-of-its-kind public awareness project, tailored to boys and their fathers, promoting healthy masculinity in Baltimore’s ultra-Orthodox community.

In 2016, JWI launches the Vote Like A Girl campaign to inspire civic engagement. In 2017, the Young Women’s Impact Network (YWIN) expands to New York, Denver, and Los Angeles, and has its first National Advocacy Day to bring young women to Capitol Hill to advocate for issues critical for women and girls.

In 2018, YWIN reaches Chicago. JWI also partners with the United State of Women Summit, and marches with millions at the Women's March, the March for Our Lives, and the Families Belong Together March.

In 2019, the sixth YWIN opens in San Francisco. JWI CEO Lori Weinstein steps down after 20 years of inspired leadership, handing the reins to Chief Operating Officer Meredith Jacobs.

Early in 2020, JWI rises to the COVID pandemic’s many challenges and dramatically shifts its programming structure. The world’s new reliance on Zoom does not slow communication with the JWI community; in fact JWI ramps up its programs, from advocacy to the Young Women’s Impact Network (YWIN), and even launches a brand-new Women’s Impact Network for women in their 40s, 50s, and beyond. Unable to host its anticipated annual Women to Watch gala, JWI instead crafts a Virtual Impact Summit, giving women all over the world a chance to experience and celebrate the collective difference they can make for women and girls. The rise in domestic violence this year also moves JWI to start investigating the true, current needs of Jewish abuse survivors.

JWI’s groundbreaking report, “Domestic Abuse in the Jewish Community: Raising Awareness & Understanding,” emerges from a comprehensive 2021 national needs assessment, which further gives rise to The National Center on Domestic & Sexual Violence in the Jewish Community - the hub for trauma-informed training, education, resources, peer support, research, policy development, and community collaboration.

This year also sees YWIN open its first international network in Tel Aviv, as well as another U.S. network in San Diego.

JWI launches into 2022 - our 125th anniversary year - with a robust agenda. We celebrate our 20th class of esteemed Women to Watch honorees; YWIN continues to grow with new networks opening in Boston, Jerusalem, and Seattle; and we honored our 125-year legacy with a celebratory gala in Washington, D.C. (proceeds from the event support the long-planned Women’s Financial Empowerment Institute.)

We’ve come so far in the past 125 years. Where will our story go in the next 125?