Israeli women make 31.9% less than their male counterparts
The statistics did not necessarily reflect women getting paid less for doing the same work.
By NIV ELISMen and Women(photo credit: INGIMAGE)
At NIS 7,280 a month, the average Israeli woman’s salary in 2013 was 31.9 percent below that of the average man, which stood at NIS 10,683, according to data released Wednesday by the Central Bureau of Statistics ahead of International Women’s Day.At the median point, the gap was smaller at 26.7%, indicating the gender differences were larger at the highest ends of the pay spectrum.The statistics did not necessarily reflect women getting paid less for doing the same work, however. For one, CBS said, women tend to work 8.7 fewer hours per week than men, meaning the hourly wage gap is significantly smaller at 14.4%.One notable exception in gender pay gap came in the Arab sector where Arab women earned 6.1% more per hour, on average, than Arab men, according to the CBS data, which attributed this to a tendency for Arab women to have higher levels of education than Arab men.Meanwhile, data released by the Federation of Israeli Chambers of Commerce indicated that women’s general employment patterns also differ from men’s in significant ways, with the organization indicating that women in 2014 were roughly half as likely as men to be managers.Although there was a 2% increase to 115,000 in the number of women holding managerial positions from 2013, that represented just 7% of all employed women.Among men, the 235,200 managers accounted for 13% of male workers, the FICC said.Overall, there was a 4% increase in number of employed women, 61,000, from 2013 to 2014, bringing the total to 1,675,000.Still, this is not enough, especially in the periphery where fewer women were employed, said Israela Mani, VP of Economics and taxes at the FICC.“The state must create a platform for women going to work, especially in the periphery, through business mentoring to establish independent businesses, funding day care, extra-curricular activities for kids, longer workday and recognizing child care expenditures for tax purposes,” she said, adding that women should be thought of as an economic growth engine for the periphery.The number of women registered as independent workers rose 8% from 2013, with them now representing about a third of all (413,000) independents.On a brighter note, the data showed women were increasingly heading toward advanced fields requiring degrees, such as academics, teachers, engineers, doctors, lawyers and skilled positions such as engineers and technicians, while edging away from clerical or secretarial work. Fewer women also went to work in construction or industry.
