Women’s empowerment and gender equality continues to be a movement all over the world. Fighting for women’s rights in Israel continues to be a challenge. Israelite women in their home country of Israel fight to be able to make more choices in the military and other governmental affairs as there has been a decrease lately of such actions in these sectors lately. Even the UN Refugee Agency reports that there are 4,000 sexual gender-based violence (SGBV) survivors, primarily women and children, throughout Israel, which is an unfortunate statistic that weighs over women as traffickers continue to take advantage of women.
The Israeli Penal Law forbids placing dice games and other gambling engagements amongst Israeli men and women. However, there are three exceptions to this rule. Israelites are allowed to participate in activities provided by The National Lottery that was originally enacted back in 1951. They can do sports betting from the approved operator within the country or they can enjoy social gaming.
The 1951 Women’s Equal Rights Law Of Israel
Women’s equal rights were more solidified when the 1951 Women’s Equal Rights Law of Israel was passed. It states that women are able to buy and sell property whether they are married or not. If there is a legal proceeding where a woman is involved, she has the same equal rights as a man in an Israeli court of law.
A husband and wife can marry and divorce as they please. There is no law that prevents a marriage from dissolving for whatever reason or a law that stops a certain marriage from happening. However, if a husband tries to end a marriage without a wife’s consent and without it being brought before an Israeli court will be sentenced for up to 5 years in prison for such a crime.
The Glass Ceiling Of Women’s Pay
Unfortunately, the release of the 2020 Gender Index revealed that Israelite women make only 67% in earnings of what their male counterparts make from working a job. When the 2023 Gender Index for Israel was released, their world ranking showing how much gender equality they uphold in their nation dipped severely from being in 60th place to 83rd place.
The Taub Center for Social Policies and Studies in Israel revealed that the wage gap between the pay women receive and men’s earnings could be anywhere between 32% to 42% based on how it’s being calculated. Unfortunately, most occupations that women are working in require less working hours compared to men’s positions. Hence, more women have been seen working part-time positions compared to males working full-time jobs.
This gap could also be from women typically engaging in occupations where they are paid less in general compared to occupations their male counterparts are working. On top of that, if they are mothers to children, they may have to work part-time as a work-life balance mechanism to be sure they are home for their little ones at appointed times during the day.
In collegiate endeavors, women are preferring to study in education and therapy which historically is paid lower than what their male counterparts are studying: mathematics. Tax accountants, engineers, and other occupations requiring a mathematics-based degree are paid higher in Israel compared to teachers and therapists.
Here are the entry-level earnings rates for these occupations:
Engineers: ILS 146,895
Tax Accountants: ILS 189,859
Elementary School Teachers: ILS 150,053
Clinical Therapists: ILS $165,675 on average but can be as low as ILS 118,126
Conclusion
Despite Israeli women facing the risk of becoming trafficked, a severe pay gap compared to what men are paid, and continuing to fight for making more choices in the military and government, women’s empowerment in Israel is going strong to make vital changes in the country going forward.
Lynn Martelli is an editor at Readability. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University and has worked as an editor for over 10 years. Lynn has edited a wide variety of books, including fiction, non-fiction, memoirs, and more. In her free time, Lynn enjoys reading, writing, and spending time with her family and friends.
