The Union of Jewish Women was established in London in 1902 at a drawing-room meeting hosted by Lady Louisa de Rothschild. This marked the start of over 100 years of Jewish women’s activism in the UK. 

 In 1965 the Association of Jewish Women’s Organisations was set up to ensure that the vibrant charities working on issues relating to women had a forum for discussion and mutual support. For half a century, the AJWO coordinated campaigns and activities including involvement in the suffrage campaign, activism on Soviet Jewry in the 1970’s and 80’s, the agunot campaign (surrounding Jewish divorce), and the representation of Jewish women on women’s issues on the world stage.

Today, there is a recognition that many Jewish women  are no longer members of traditional Jewish women’s organisations.  However, they remain active, engaged, and committed as ever to making their mark as Jewish women, both in the Jewish community and in wider society.  

Between 2011 and 2017, the Commission on Women in Jewish Leadership undertook consultation and research on gender imbalance in Jewish Communal Leadership, and then set about implementing the resulting recommendations. While a significant step, the commission highlighted the need for continued work on women’s equality, representation and leadership.

Partly in response to this, the Alliance of Jewish Women, and their Organisations, was incorporated in 2018.

The Alliance aims to bring together  and represent Jewish women from all backgrounds, to discuss and act upon matters affecting them, the Jewish community and wider society.