Public sector discriminates women more than private, data shows
Social Equality Ministry data shows wage gap between men and women has deepened last year; in public sector men earn 36% more than women do.
The wage gap between men and women in Israel has only increased over the last year, according to a report on the status of women in Israel released on Sunday ahead of International Women's Day, which also found that the public sector discriminates against women more than the private sector does.
Data from the Social Equality Ministry's reveals that men earn 32 percent more than women do, and in the public sector the wage gap is even greater where men earn 36 percent more. Women "lead" among the recipients of governmental income support - 42.4 percent of women, compared to 29.4 percent of men.
With respect to women's representation in government, only three women serve as government ministers, compared to 18 men. The Supreme Court has only four female judges, less than a third. Government companies are led by only 40 women – a low figure, but it is still an increase compared to previous years, except for 2013, when there was a higher representation of women on boards of directors (45.3 percent).
The situation is also discouraging in local government. Only 2.7 percent of the heads of local authorities are women. There are 341 females serving as elected officials in local authorities, 14.7 percent of all elected officials. This represents an increase of about 30 percent from 2008.
In addition to the new data, Social Equality Minister Gila Gamliel (Likud) will present her ministry's new goals to reduce these gaps. First and foremost is the launch of the "Motherhood and Career" campaign which aims to encourage women to pursue a career alongside a work-from-home pilot program.
Gamaliel also plans to expand the participation of women in the economy and the labor market, to bring about women's rise in academia and to promote a systemic solution to women denied a get (Jewish religious divorce).
Minister Gamliel stated that "the data indicate significant wage differences between men and women in the public sector. The Ministry for Social Equality, in cooperation with the Civil Service Commission and the Supervisor of Wages at the Finance Ministry, is promoting a strategic plan to reduce and eventually wipe out the gender gap.
"Moreover, the ministry is for the first time carrying out a gender-oriented examination of the state budget. By 2018, there will be a 100 percent gender-oriented budget in all government ministries. This will engender a revolution in the distribution of resources for women, which will lead to equality of opportunity and the narrowing the gaps between women and men in the workplace."
