Israel could soon see foreign women working in the construction industry. The Jerusalem District Court has ruled that the state’s blanket ban on employing women in the construction sector is disproportionate, extremely unreasonable and must be revised.
Judge Anat Zinger accepted a petition filed by A.T. Abayev, a licensed corporation for employing foreign workers in construction, against the Population and Immigration Authority and the Ministry of Construction and Housing.
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There currently is a ban on employing women as foreign workers in the construction industry
(Photo: Shutterstock)
The ruling states that “the petition is accepted insofar as the issue of employing women as foreign workers in the construction industry is returned to the Population and Immigration Authority and the Ministry of Construction and Housing. This is in order for them to conduct an orderly process on the question of under what conditions it will be possible to allow the recruitment of female construction workers, taking into account the unique risks to them in this sector.
“During this process, the position of manpower corporations in the industry, as well as that of the contractors themselves, will also be heard. Based on the conclusions reached, conditions will be set that will allow the recruitment of women who wish to do so. However, this will be subject to the conditions determined by the Population and Immigration Authority and the Ministry of Housing, so that the work aligns with the needs of the workers, reduces the risks to them and meets the needs of employers.”
The ruling concerns the position of the Population Authority and the Housing Ministry that women would not be permitted to be brought in as foreign workers for “wet works” in construction (such as steelwork, formwork, plastering and flooring), in part in order to protect them.
According to the judgment, in March 2025 the petitioner submitted a request to the Housing Ministry to employ foreign workers under a private recruitment procedure — a temporary framework designed to rapidly bring foreign workers to Israel for construction jobs. In April 2025, the ministry rejected the request, writing: “Upon reviewing the candidates’ applications submitted by you under the private track through a screening framework without practical exams, it was found that there are applications from women for work in the construction sector. According to the guidelines of the Population Authority, the recruitment of women for work in the construction sector is not approved.”
The petitioner also approached the Authority, arguing that guidelines refusing to accept a woman for work solely because she is a woman constitute discrimination, and that no similar restriction exists in other sectors in which foreign workers are employed in Israel. Through attorneys Yair David, Efrat Greenberg-Yosef and Naama Ariam Anatbi, the petitioner argued that this is particularly puzzling in Israel’s current reality, where women serve in senior roles and in positions requiring various physical capabilities, including as fighter pilots and soldiers in armored units.
Inherent sensitivity in the sector
The state argued that women are not recruited for construction work due to the sector’s inherent sensitivity and because no structured framework has been found to provide comprehensive protection for women employed in it. It further argued that employing a small number of female foreign workers at a construction site alongside a particularly large number of men involves significant risks, including concerns about exploitation and harassment.
“After weighing the parties’ arguments, although I do not take lightly the claims raised by the respondents (the Housing Ministry and the Population Authority), my conclusion is that a blanket ban on bringing women to work in the construction sector cannot be maintained," according to Judge Anat Zinger. "Such a sweeping directive, without any attempt having been made to set conditions that would remove or significantly reduce the unique risks to women in construction (‘wet works’), amounts to discrimination that cannot be accepted. Such a directive is disproportionate and, as such, extremely unreasonable.”
The judge accepted that the risks cited require different consideration. However, she wrote, “Different consideration does not mean discrimination and a blanket prohibition solely on the basis of gender and the accompanying differences. In fact, it emerged that the possibility of setting conditions that would remove or reduce the unique risks identified by the respondents was not examined at all.”
In conclusion, the judge noted that the petition concerns the employment of female foreign workers in “wet” construction jobs, including steelwork, formwork, plastering and flooring.
“Just as it is not argued that women cannot be pilots, so too here the respondents did not claim that there are no women who possess the physical fitness required to perform these tasks. The prohibition on bringing women was not based on an assumption that they are unfit to perform the work, but rather on a desire to protect them,” she wrote in her decision.
However, in this context, the judge ruled that this amounted to overprotection “which caused unnecessary harm. It must be examined whether solutions can be found that are less harmful, while at the same time taking into account the differences between men and women, in accordance with the respondents’ position that such differences are indeed relevant.”
Attorney Yair DavidAttorney Yair David, who represented the petitioner, said in response: “The refusal to recruit female foreign workers to the construction sector is an outdated relic of discrimination that has no place in 2026. Construction sites need working hands, not archaic worldviews. If women can build other countries around the world and carry out tasks in other sectors such as caregiving and agriculture, there is no professional or legal reason to prevent them from building Israel as well and helping to solve the housing crisis.”
The Housing Ministry said in response: “The ministry will examine the options available to it and, of course, will respect the court’s ruling and work to promote a professional process with all relevant parties, in order to examine conditions that will on the one hand ensure the rights and safety of the workers and, on the other, meet the needs of the sector. We emphasize that during the hearing the ministry presented its professional position, according to which the integration of women into the construction sector should be encouraged, as has been done to date through various training programs and local recruitment.
“However, with regard to the employment of female foreign workers, the ministry’s firm position is that the sector is not yet fully prepared for their employment, given the need for adjustments and for ensuring a framework of supervision, protection and appropriate employment conditions. We add that at this stage no substantial demand has been identified from contractors themselves to employ women as foreign workers, and the request on the matter came from a manpower corporation rather than from the companies operating on the ground.”
First published: 23:01, 02.17.26