Women Fight for Equality in Israel

A new study finds the nation's women are paid on average one-third less for the same job as men, and the gap hasn't changed since 1967

by Neal Sandler

Orna Berry is without a doubt one of the most successful women in Israel's booming high-tech industry. Twelve years ago, the 57-year-old data communications specialist sold Ornet Data Communications Technologies, a company she founded with three other colleagues, to German electronics giant Siemens (SI) for $32 million. She then served a four-year stint as chief scientist for Israel's Industry & Trade Ministry before becoming a leading venture capitalist.

Yet despite her achievements, Berry is among the first to admit that Israel is not a land of equal opportunity for women. Sure, the utopian-socialist idealism of the country's early days cast women as equals—toiling the earth alongside men in kibbutzim and carrying rifles in the army. The legendary Golda Meir was one of the world's first female prime ministers. But many Israelis say the official rhetoric of sexual equality paints a false impression.

Now, there's evidence to back up the claim. On Apr. 30, the Israel Women's Network, a leading lobbying group for women's rights, presented an 800-page study to the Knesset Committee on the Status of Women documenting that women are paid on average one-third less for the same job. Moreover, the salary gap has not changed since 1967, the study found. The group also noted that Israeli women are underrepresented in business, politics, and the media, even though they hold more than half of all academic degrees.

Society With Traditional Values

"The economic boom of the past four years has passed over Israel's female population, with most of the benefits going to men in the middle- and upper-income levels," says Rina Bar-Tal, director of Israel Women's Network, which compiled the study.

Long before the study was unveiled, the second-class status of women in Israel had leapt into public consciousness following high-profile sexual harassment cases involving President Moshe Katsav and former cabinet minister Haim Ramon. Katsav faces potential indictment on several counts of alleged rape against former employees and has stepped down temporarily from his post, while Ramon was convicted in January of kissing a female soldier against her will at a party. These and other governmental scandals have raised questions about whether Israel's economic boom can withstand the mounting crises (see BusinessWeek.com, 3/27/07, "Israeli Economy Shrugs Off Scandals").

The problem, as many see it, is that for all of its sophistication and advances Israel is still a society built largely on traditional values. It has a higher level of marriage, lower rate of divorce, and higher fertility rate than any Western country. "Society still puts tremendous pressure on women to have children and be in charge of the home even if they hold high positions," says Tamar Almor, director of Strategy and Entrepreneurship Studies, the College of Management in Rishon-le-Zion.

Handful of Top Women Execs

Religion also plays a role. To serve Orthodox customers, for instance, 30 bus routes around the country offer separate sections for men and women, with female passengers relegated to the back. These co-called "modesty buses" are intended to accommodate the demand for gender segregation among religious conservatives, but a group of women is now suing to eliminate the service on the basis of discrimination.

To be sure, Israel has a handful of women who have made it to the top in the local business world. Among them are Bank Leumi CEO Galia Maor; Ofra Strauss, chairwoman of the Strauss-Elite Group, Israel's second largest foodmaker; and Judith Bronicki, CEO of geothermal energy company Ormat Technologies (ORA) (see BusinessWeek.com, 11/6/06/, "Smart Solutions for Global Warming").