10 Facts about Life for Women in Israel

on

International Women’s Day

By Lea Speyer March 8, 2015 , 1:45 pm

“Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.” (Proverbs 30:30-31)

March 8 marks International Women’s Day, celebrating the power of women across the world. The day is celebrated by the United Nations and many other countries, including Israel, and commemorates the female struggle towards equal rights, justice, peace and progress. Here in Israel, women are making great strides in all sectors of society. Here are some quick facts about women in Israel and how they are making a difference each day.

1. As of 2013, there were 2,986,000 women aged 15 and up living in Israel.

2. Life expectancy for women in Israel is 83.9 years, compared to 80.3 years for women.

3. Women constituted 57.8% of people employed in academic professions in 2014. Women formed only 32.8% of people in management positions. In high-tech, women constituted 35.5% of the total workers.

4. In 2014, the percentage of women in the work force who were unemployed was 5.9%, similar to the percentage of unemployed men.

5. The average monthly salary for women wage earners in 2013 was NIS 7,280, while for men it was NIS 10,683. The average difference in wages was 31.9%; the median difference was 26.7%. This is partly because women on the average work fewer hours than men; the gap between the hourly wages of women and men was only 14.4%.

6. The hourly wage of Arab women was higher than that of Arab men by 6.1%. Part of the reason is that the average educational level (years of study) of Arab women is higher than that of Arab men.

7. In 2013, 31.9% of self-employed individuals in Israel were women. The average monthly wage of self-employed women was NIS 7,406 (1.7% higher than female wage-earners).

8. Two-thirds of the people employed in traditionally female professions – caregivers, retail or wholesale salespersons, secretaries, bookkeepers, day-care workers, school teachers – were in fact women. 32% of all women workers were employed in these professions.

9. In the 2013-14 academic year, there were 312,500 students in various institutions of higher education in Israel; 57.3% of them (179,200) were women. In contrast, in 1969-70 women constituted less than half of the students (43.3%).

10. 86% of women expressed satisfaction with their lives, similar to the percentage of men. 51% of the women were satisfied with their economic situation, while 49% were not very or not at all satisfied with their economic situation.

Read more at http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/31994/10-facts-women-israel-international-womens-day-jerusalem/#Qqe3D0gg6zWLwJDj.99