Gender gap remains in labor force, says report

Despite progress, women in Israel face greater job instability, especially in times of crisis.

By ARIELA OHRENSTEIN FEBRUARY 25, 2025 18:00

Gender pay gap representation (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)

There has been a narrowing of gender gaps over the past two decades, but women’s employment still remains more vulnerable, especially in times of crisis, the Israeli Employment Service reported Monday.

From 2008-2025, there has been a significant decrease in the gender gap between men and women looking for jobs, although the proportion of women is still higher than that of men, it said in a report ahead of International Women’s Day 2025 next month.

During the first decade, this proportion was 30%-35%, while in the second it ranged from 10%-25%, which is evidence of the rising employment rate among women, it said.

The past five months reflect the same trends seen over the past two decades, with a consistent decline in the gender gap between job-seekers from the last quarter of 2024 to January 2025, the report said. This declined from 12 percentage points in October (56% compared with 44%) to 8.8 in January (54.4% compared with 45.6%), the data showed.

There was much less stability in women’s employment compared with men, especially in crisis situations where women have been more likely than men to be laid off, the report said. This was evident both during the COVID-19 lockdowns and the Israel-Hamas War, it said.

Men in Israel make more than women (illustrative). (credit: PIXABAY)

The coronavirus pandemic and the war had dramatic impacts on the labor market, particularly during the lockdowns and the beginning of the war. The increase in the number of job-seekers occurred primarily as a result of the reduction in economic activity during these crises, the report said.

Women in more crisis-sensitive industries?

The gender gap among job-seekers might have been because women are generally employed in industries that are more sensitive to the effects of such crises, such as sales and service industries, the report said. Nevertheless, according to the data, women also were affected more in other industries and not just in those impacted by the reduction in economic activity.

Data from the COVID-19 lockdowns indicated that the number of job-seekers who were mothers with children under the age of 18 increased. This was due to the absence of educational frameworks, which led more women to stay at home with their children, showing that the traditional division of parental roles still exists today.

The stability of women’s employment was also challenged during the summer due to the phenomenon of workers in certain industries being laid off and returning to work in September, such as in education, which particularly affects haredi communities.

“The traditional social structure still affects [women’s] employment stability,” Israeli Employment Service Director-General Inbal Mashash said. “In the third decade of the millennium, a situation in which women bear a heavier burden in times of crisis is unacceptable. This glass ceiling must be broken. This is not a decree of fate but a social challenge that requires determined action.”

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“We must act to ensure true equality of opportunity and an equitable distribution of responsibility for family management and livelihood,” she said. “The Employment Service is committed to promoting an equal and gender-blind labor market, and this is how we will act.”