If Israel’s government wants to improve the economic condition of women, it can start by looking at its own payroll. According to the public sector salary report that was just released, the majority of government workers are women — 64% — and yet women’s earnings in the public sector significantly trail those of men. Haaretz reports:

The average monthly salary for women was 24% less than the average for men. The average gross pay for women stood at NIS 11,498 [$3,158] while men averaged NIS 15,060 [$4,136] a month. The report further showed that while the proportion of women in the public sector workforce is growing from year to year, so is the wage gap. The fact that men are employed in higher-ranking jobs than women only accounts for some of the discrepancy.

Some of the overall trends observed in the report explain the discrepancy. On average, the highest-paid workers are employed as port workers, in the defense establishment and in government ministries. By contrast, those working in education are significantly underpaid. (Israeli elementary school teachers with 15 years’ experience make the equivilent of $19,868 annually.) The overall impact on women’s comparative salaries is clear.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis of the crisis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

There is some good new in the report: The number of women employed as doctors working for the state-subsidized HMOs is on the increase. In 2009, women made up 37% of doctors. Back in 1997, that number was only 25%. The highest-paid state employees were the country’s top doctors and heads of hospital departments — five out of the six highest-earning public sector employees, earning in some cases more than 10 times the average government salaries. So maybe if a few women doctors make their way up the ranks — there is at least some hope for the future.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount