Established in 1984, the Israel Women’s Network (IWN) is a nonpartisan civil society organization. Our mission is to advance the status of women in Israel by promoting equality and diversity via a range of innovative projects and programs. The realization that women are discriminated against, regardless of their race, religion, social and economic status brings together a diverse group of Israeli women from different sectors. We believe that promoting and upholding women’s rights is more than just a “women’s issue”; rather, it is of primary social interest and an essential tenant of democracy. IWN programs target change on a policy level, seeking to bring about social change regarding women’s rights in Israel. A recent recipient of the prestigious President's Award, IWN is one of few Israeli organizations currently holding consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), a distinguished status allowing monitoring to ensure the Israeli government acts with greater accountability on women’s rights in accordance with various international conventions. IWN programs target change on multiple levels - on a national policy and decision making level, as well as at the grassroots level, creating an ever-growing network of women from a variety of sectors and communities throughout the country who are involved and committed to women's rights and equality. As such, IWN activities transcend individual interventions to create a collective impact on Israeli women's status and Israeli society as a whole. IWN achievements have had a significant impact on Israeli women's lives: extended maternity leave, delayed extension of women's retirement age and most recently in a High Court decision shifting burden of proof from employee to employer in wage gap discrimination cases