Record number of ultra-Orthodox women join Israeli workforce
More and more Israeli ultra-Orthodox women turn to computer programming, accounting, entrepreneurship and other jobs instead of traditional positions in the education system.
The rate of employment among ultra-Orthodox Jewish women reached an all-time record in the final quarter of 2021, catching up with the rate among non-Orthodox Israeli women at 83%, according to Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics. These are impressive numbers given that the government-set target for 2020 was only 63% and that employment among another highly conservative Israeli minority, Arab women, has seen slight improvement but is generally stagnant at 40.5%.
The trumpeted achievement notwithstanding, we wish to spoil the party a bit.
First, the rate of women’s employment in ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities was always rather high, especially compared to the men’s, which remains stubbornly low. While women’s employment rose from 56% in 2010 to 83% in a decade, the rate of employment among ultra-Orthodox men rose from 40% in 2010 to 53% in 2019 but has since declined.
Second, even if an increasing number of women go to work, their average pay is not high, to put it mildly.
