In the midst of the challenges currently being faced by the State of Israel, the complex social and economic reality that will await us on the “day after” is starting to become apparent: what ought to have been dealt with beforehand will need to be dealt with afterwards, on an even broader and more comprehensive scale, so that Israeli society can grow and flourish in terms of its security, society, and economy.
The foreseeable economic challenge has become even greater in light of the notification by Moody’s, the credit rating company, of a downgrade in Israel’s credit rating to 2A, for the first time ever, as well as the downgrading of Israel’s rating forecast to “negative.”
In this situation, the public money that belongs to all of us is an expensive and vital resource, which must produce the maximum yield, so that we might witness economic rehabilitation and renewed growth in the Israeli economy and its society. We must rethink every initiative, plan or process that relies on that money, and understand how these resources can be channeled for more significant, optimal impact.
Social and government initiatives aimed at integrating special population groups into the Israeli labor market are among the critical tools for navigating the entire economy towards regrowth during times of crisis. In the case of haredi (ultra-Orthodox) society, it is going to be necessary to refresh the currently existing toolbox in the context of these kinds of initiatives, and to pinpoint the responses at a much higher resolution.
Integrating haredi society into the workforce
Efforts to integrate haredi society into the workforce have been taking place on the ground for some time, but the complex reality remains: The labor and wage indicators of haredi men and women have remained almost unchanged, while a reserve of unrealized potential remains concealed beneath the surface.
Studies that we have conducted at the Haredi Institute for Public Affairs have continuously demonstrated a higher-than-expected level of willingness among haredim to integrate into the labor market, as well as a strong motivation among those who do work to acquire the skills that are necessary to improve the quality of their employment. So why don’t we see any change in the numbers?
THERE ARE immense differences within haredi society due to it being composed of various sub-groups and communities that have different ideologies and characteristics, and different approaches to education, scholarship and employment.
These differences also stem from the variety of social mechanisms that operate differently in various haredi groups – which, along with the special gender-related characteristics of haredi society, give rise to differences in the nature and character of the integration of haredim into the workforce.
These differences are so large and significant that they require us to rethink any actions that might be taken in order to encourage employment in haredi society: the formation of specially tailored interventions directed at its specific groups.
In a breakthrough study that I recently led together with Dr. Eitan Regev, we conducted a rigorous examination of the reasons for the wage and employment discrepancies between the haredi sector and the general public, in order to understand precisely where the main labor challenges faced by the haredi population are to be found.
We found, for instance, that litvak (Eastern European non-hassidic) men contribute much more to the labor discrepancy between haredi and non-haredi men than their proportion of the haredi population, since their employment rate is significantly lower than that of haredi men who are hassidic or Sephardi.
On the other hand, we found that hassidic women work at significantly lower rates than litvak or Sephardi women, their wages are also significantly lower, and they are the main reason for the wage and employment rate discrepancies between haredi and non-haredi Jewish women.
THESE KINDS of findings emphasize the need to initiate programs that are tailored for these groups within haredi society, which understand the differences between the various communities, their unique lifestyles and paths in the haredi landscape, and which generate possibilities for integration in employment and for acquiring high quality education.
Unsurprisingly, our research found that the cities of Beit Shemesh and Jerusalem require a significant focusing of resources in order to increase the rate and quality of employment of haredi men and women alike.
These cities already have significant government activity that requires a rigorous municipal strategy for the local population make-up, alongside greater access to or expansion of training possibilities and the development of employment opportunities that are local.
These discrepancies between haredim who belong to different communities, who live in different towns, who work in different economic industries and who even belong to different age groups, call for a reopening of the discussion about haredi employment, and for a transition from a broad-based, uniform national plan to a plan that is focused on specific populations, age groups and regions.
What have we learned? That the haredi population is not a single bloc, and an overall, general strategy is no longer suitable.
We have also learned that the economic potential that is embedded in haredi society is immense and could be realized with shared, specially tailored work that would focus on dealing with the fundamental reasons for the wage and employment discrepancies between the population groups.
While the channeling of public resources is critical, it is the fine details that require attention.
The writer is a senior researcher and head of the Labor Division at the Haredi Institute for Public Affairs.