I published an article about the mehitza in JOFA Journal, Volume XIV- Issue 1, Fall 2016- Tishrei 5777. Here is the first paragraph and a link to the remainder of the article, in JOFA Journal:

The topic of the synagogue mehitzah has generated impassioned discussion spanning more than a century. Widely debated in the United States throughout the twentieth century, mehitzah (and even separate seating) was not always the standard for Orthodox synagogues. In the 1950s, a significant number of synagogues that identified as Orthodox did not use a mehitzah. As American Orthodox Judaism developed, however, the mehitzah became a defining feature of its synagogues.1 Recently, the public conversation has subsided, shifting toward more hot-button issues such as advanced Torah study for women and women in leadership positions, leaving mehitzah to the annals of previous generations.2 Some Orthodox leaders refer to the topic as “yesterday’s news.” On the other hand, Rabba Sara Hurwitz, dean of Yeshivat Maharat, highlighted mehitzah as “one of the critical issues currently facing the Jewish community,”3 particularly in light of its impact on Orthodox women’s level of engagement in Jewish life. Other prominent female leaders, including Maharats Anat Sharbat and Rachel Kohl Finegold, have expressed similar sentiments, as have members of the Orthodox synagogue of which I have been rabbi for over a decade. To understand why mehitzah arouses strong responses and to see how we arrived at this juncture, I will trace the halakhic origins of the synagogue mehitzah, discuss some of the challenges it poses today, and conclude with possible solutions. (Article continued on page 11 of the JOFA Journal here)

OR click the following link: https://www.jofa.org/sites/default/files/uploaded_documents/147923journal_fall_2016rev.pdf