The salary gaps in Israel have narrowed since 1990, when they were 47 percent, but in the past decade there has been almost no change. The “motherhood penalty” in Israel, a term describing the reduction in women’s salaries after the birth of their first child, reaches 28 percent in Israel, according to a new study by the Chief Economist Division in the Finance Ministry. With regard to the personal injustice, I do not think much need be said to demonstrate the nature and force of the injury that each of the two respected directors will suffer personally.

  • In the eighteenth Knesset, one woman – Orly Levi-Abekasis – serves as one of the Deputy Speakers, another – Yirdena Miller-Horovitz – is the Secretary General and two women – Tzipi Hotovely and Ronit Tirosh – are committee chairpersons.
  • In Germany it is double, in Denmark – 21 percent, in the United States – 31 percent, and in Great Britain – 44 percent.
  • After dropping in the wake of last April’s election, the number of women voted into office has the chance to rise once again in the upcoming “do-over election” on September 17.
  • By the eighteenth Knesset in 2011, six women sat on the Finance Committee and two belonged to the Foreign Affiars and Defense Committee.
  • The laws were a mere interpretative tool to be applied by the courts in applying legislative provisions.

The Ministry https://asian-date.net/western-asia/israel-women of Defense labelled six Palestinian civil society organizations as “terrorist” in October. Divorce and other personal status laws governed by religious courts continued to discriminate against women, and domestic violence rose during the Covid-19 pandemic. The authorities denied asylum seekers access to a fair and prompt refugee status determination process, and to economic support.

In 1950, 4.2 percent of local representatives were women; by 1978, 5.5%; and in 1993, 11%. In 2011, there were many women local representatives though only one woman, Yael German, was serving as a mayor of a local authority. In the eighteenth Knesset, one woman – Orly Levi-Abekasis – serves as one of the Deputy Speakers, another – Yirdena Miller-Horovitz – is the Secretary General and two women – Tzipi Hotovely and Ronit Tirosh – are committee chairpersons. Tzipi Livni, who has held minister portfolios in past governments, is the current of the largest Knesset party, the Labor Party, and is the head of the opposition. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, only thirteen women have served as cabinet ministers, including former-Prime Minister Golda Meir and former-Vice Prime Minister Tzipi Livni. While every government since 1992 has included at least one woman minister, at least seven of the thirty-three governments have featured zero women in power positions. While some women have been involved in political life since the founding of the first Jewish political institutions at the turn of the century, women in Israel are still under­represented in many areas of public life.

Palestinian elections have not been held since 2006, and both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority restrict women’s rights. Abortion is illegal in the Palestinian Territories and women must have permission from a “guardian” to travel from the blockaded Gaza Strip, according to a Hamas-run court, as well as permission from Israel or Egypt, which control Gaza’s borders. Women in Israel earn 67 percent of what men earn, according to the 2020 Gender Index conducted by the Center for the Advancement of Women in the Public Sphere at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute.

Female Representation in Israeli Politics

By examining women’s status in these various legal forums, we can obtain an overview of the position of women in Israeli society. After dropping in the wake of last April’s election, the number of women voted into office has the chance to rise once again in the upcoming “do-over election” on September 17. In the context of Israeli politics, it is the individual parties that possess the greatest ability to increase female representatives’ presence in the Knesset and access to senior roles. Looking ahead, these pressures are only more likely to increase with the expected growth in support for Haredi parties. While the anticipated surge in percentage of the ultra-orthodox in Israel’s population over the next few decades will probably translate into more seats for Haredi parties, the fragmentation in Israeli politics already makes it very difficult to form a government without them.

Many women are involved in political parties, but their numbers have tended to not be reflected in party leadership or on party lists for elected office. In the January 2013 election, however, three parties that won representation in the Knesset were headed by women – Shelly Yachimovich for Labor; Tzipi Livni for Ha’Tnuah; and, Zehava Gal-On for Meretz – possibly signaling a changing of the guard of sorts. The figures of women in local government suggests that political parties consider the inclusion of at least one woman on local councils a political necessity.

Combat roles

The OECD reported in 2016 that income disparity between men in women in Israel is particularly high compared with other countries in the OECD. On average, men in Israel make 22 percent more than women, which places Israel among the four OECD with the highest wage inequality between men and women.

In 2018, 5.6% of women aged years reported that they had been subject to physical and/or sexual violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months. Of those granted an exemption, 35-36% were exempted for religious reasons.