“Early Childhood Education Isn’t a Women’s Profession – It’s a Human One.”

At 41, Noam Kadmiel from Ramat Gan stands out quietly and powerfully in Israel’s early childhood landscape. He is one of the very few men working in a WIZO daycare center, and the only male student in a unique academic program for a B.Ed. degree and Early Childhood Teaching Certificate. For nearly a decade he has devoted himself to caring for infants and toddlers, work he describes not as a job but as a calling. Today he balances his role as a caregiver and classroom lead with life as a new father to a five-month-old baby, a loving partner in a proud same-sex relationship, and a second-year student in the joint WIZO and Levinsky-Wingate early childhood education program, supported by scholarships from WIZO Federations around the world.

Noam’s journey into early childhood education began far from where he ultimately found his purpose. He grew up in a southern moshav and later served in the IDF as an instructor for incarcerated soldiers. During that time, he became deeply curious about how people develop and what happens when they do not receive the support they need. “I was always interested in why some people struggle with frameworks or end up drifting toward crime,” he recalls. “Eventually I realized that it all starts in childhood. It begins with having someone who sees you, listens to you and believes in you.” Although he began studying education in his twenties, life circumstances postponed his academic path. In 2015 he began working in a WIZO multi-purpose daycare center, an integrated therapeutic and educational environment serving infants and toddlers at risk, and everything came together. Mornings with babies and afternoons with kindergarteners quickly became the rhythm of his days. He fell in love with the emotional honesty and sensitivity of the early childhood world. “Every smile, every touch, every word stays with a child,” he says. “It is an age of open hearts.”

Not everyone understood his choice at first. “Yes, some parents raised an eyebrow. A man in a daycare?” Noam admits with a smile. “But when you work with heart, the doubts disappear. Children feel you. Parents see that you are simply good at what you do.” Over the years his work became a home, a purpose and a vision for what early childhood education can be when it is guided by empathy and professionalism instead of stereotypes.

When WIZO launched the first academic program designed specifically for daycare staff without previous academic training, Noam enrolled immediately. For the first time he felt the system opening its doors to caregivers like him who had years of practical experience but lacked formal qualifications. “The studies are a true gift,” he says. “They allow me to grow professionally and personally. This year I even enrolled in a management course because I want to continue influencing the system.” The program combines academic theory with real classroom challenges, creating a bridge between research and the daily reality in WIZO daycares. It also offers additional certificates in behavioral intervention, movement and dance instruction for young children and a daycare management track. Supported by research, enriched by joint training days and led by faculty committed to elevating early childhood education, the program became a meaningful turning point in Noam’s path.

Yet nothing compares to the transformation he experienced this past year, which he describes as the greatest joy of his life. After a long and emotional surrogacy process in the United States, he and his partner became fathers. “It was not simple,” he says. “There were failures and moments of hope, but eventually our beautiful baby was born and everything took on a new meaning. He reminds me every day why I chose education.” With a full heart Noam shares that they hope to begin a second surrogacy process soon.

His dedication has not gone unnoticed. Dr. Alona Peleg, Head of the Early Childhood Department at the Levinsky-Wingate Academic Center, describes him as proof that early childhood education does not belong to women alone but to anyone who brings heart, attentiveness and belief in children. Prof. Lea Kacen, Chairperson of WIZO’s Early Childhood Division and the founder of the program, explains that the initiative was created from a deep understanding that early childhood is the most critical stage in a person’s life. “Our goal is to give daycare teams the knowledge and professional tools that strengthen their daily work and support the emotional and cognitive development of young children,” she says. “Noam is an inspiring example of sensitivity, professionalism and the breaking of boundaries in a field that is traditionally viewed as feminine.”

Noam expresses his philosophy clearly. “Early childhood education isn’t a women’s profession. It is a human one. It does not matter where you come from or who you are. If you bring love, curiosity and belief in children, you are in the right place.” His hope is simple. That men and women alike will choose careers based on passion rather than outdated social expectations. His story is more than a personal journey. It is an invitation to reconsider what early childhood education can be, and who belongs in it.