Women and Work, Israeli style

Today is International Women’s Day. To mark the occasion the Rackman Center for the Advancement of the Status of Women at Bar-Ilan University released the results of a study of women’s wages. Women make up over half of the Israeli labor force but are three times as likely as men to work part-time. On average they earn 64% of men’s pay. In 2007, the average pre-tax monthly income of men was 9,267 NIS (New Israeli Shekels; about $2400) while women made 5,949 NIS. The study showed that the wage gap declined for single women as they got older but widened for married women over time. Quoted in Ha’Aretz, Rackman Center Director, Professor Ruth Halperin-Kadari said, “the State of Israel has one of the highest birthrates in the Western world, but the infrastructure for looking after children and the possibility of both parents playing a role in the workforce are extremely restricted. Because of the high birth rate here, mothers are more impacted by this than in other places." Yet the study also reported that women make up over half (56%) of the students in higher education and 52% of those working on doctorates. Slightly less than a third of Israeli executives are female, as are 34% of high tech workers. It is discouraging to think about the restricted opportunities available to these women. On the plus side, I have to say that in our limited experience here we have encountered a number of young fathers wheeling strollers and carrying babies during the daytime so perhaps there is some movement towards greater equality.

It's even more discouraging to learn that most of the labor law complaints reported in 2008 to Kav La’Oved (Worker’s Hotline for the Protection of Worker’s Rights) came from women. Complaints included unjustified suspensions, unpaid overtime and employers’ practice of regularly firing and hiring workers to avoid paying benefits. Of the 5,500 complaints fielded last year, security, cleaning and maintenance topped the list of labor violators. Private education and welare services also ranked high, with many complaints from nursery and kindergarten aides and exam monitors. Restaurant work generated many violations as well. A dramatic rise in the number of complaints from the ultra-Orthodox sector was also noted (Reported in Ha’Aretz on Sunday, March 8). This is a depressing picture but Kav La’Oved is doing great work to protect the rights of low wage Israeli workers as well as those of the large population of migrant workers from Thailand, the Philippines, India, China, Nepal, Sri Lanka and elsewhere who fill jobs in agriculture, construction and, the largest group, caregiving. The predominantly female migrant workforce in the caregiving sector provides in-home care for the old and disabled. These women work very long hours with few protections and are very vulnerable to exploitation. Last week I paid a visit to the Kav La'Oved offices and met Jessica Nevo, the development director. More on this organization and the grant proposal I'm helping to write in another post.