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International Women's Day

Gender Corona: The gaps in the employment market are still large

There is a long way to go for equality: the Corona has maintained gender discrimination in the world of employment, with women being harmed more than men, but even in this grim reality there is a bright spot: the new working methods for remote management may bring them closer to the midline

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• International Women's Day

Hila Knister Bar David

Friday, 05 March 2021, 00:23

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Once again, we mark International Women's Day, an excellent opportunity to examine the nature of gender equality in the various fields of Israeli society.

One of the areas that has been shaken in the past year following the Corona virus is the world of employment.

Already at the starting point, women were due to the Achilles' heel of the Israeli world of employment, and since the corona mainly affected the weaker class, the main victims in the labor market were the weak workers, mainly women.

The vaccines are already here, but the corona damage will probably continue with us, first we need to understand what the corona has done to women in the world of employment and maybe it even brought with it a line.

The corona also seems to have been characterized by gender discrimination in the world of employment, women being harmed more than men.

Of the 875,231 unemployment benefit claims filed between March 1 and May 10, 2020, 56% were filed by women.

In simple terms, there are 487,000 unemployed women.

According to the data, young women were most severely affected by the crisis among those aged 20-24: 50.5% of women lost their jobs compared to 39.5% of men (Liora Bowers, Taub 2020 Center).

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Even in an industry like high-tech where women are a minority, they make up more than 50 percent of unemployment benefit claimants (Photo: ShutterStock)

If we look at the various industries of the economy in which women are employed, we will examine in each industry the percentage of women employed and compare it to the percentage of women who filed a claim for unemployment benefits in that industry, we will find a worrying picture.

In all the employment industries examined in the economy, with the exception of real estate, the percentage of women who filed an unemployment claim in a particular industry was higher than the percentage of women employed in the same industry. In the information and communication technology industry, women make up about 41% of the workers, and out of all those filing unemployment claims in this industry, 54% are women (Liora Bowers, Taub Center 2020)

.This constant trend indicates that beyond corona damage in the industry, there are other reasons Which led to significant harm to women's employment during the Corona period. Why are women more vulnerable than men in times of crisis?

The social and cultural perception in Israel still sees women as responsible for household and child rearing. According to a study by the Ministry of Economy ("Women in the Labor Market", Osnat Fichtelberg-Bermetz 2016) ), Which examined the division of household management tasks between the father and the mother. Only 5% of all households testified that the father takes full responsibility for the household chores. In 73% of the households, most or all of the tasks are on the mother's shoulders. This reality is reflected in the world of employment in that mothers work less, tend to work shifts in its parts

In more junior positions, earning less, and having difficulty advancing and gaining tenure following maternity leave.

This increases their chances of losing their jobs in crises.

Also, the corona crisis led to the closure of schools and kindergartens for months.

If in most households the responsibility for raising the children rests on the mother's shoulders, so the logical solution for the families is that the women will stop working and take care of the children.

In addition, 152,000 households are headed by a single mother, compared with 20,000 households headed by a single father (National Insurance Institute 2020).

So the reality of working alongside childcare during the Corona period is almost impossible for mothers who worked before quarantine, quit their jobs or were fired 47% more likely than men (2020 Andrew et ak), so more single women found themselves without employment.

It's time to close the gap.

Hila Knister Bar David (Photo: PR)

But - and this is a significant but, in this grim reality, which the corona only intensified, there is also a bright spot: the assimilation of remote management practices in the employment market, allowing for future employment flexibility that will work in favor of women.

This flexibility is reflected in industries where the average wage is much higher than the average wage in the economy, which may wink at many women turning to these industries and taking part in the employment cycle.

This reality will contribute to reducing gender inequality and a healthy balance between work and family among both women and men.

In practice, it does not matter if the woman works, or chooses to run a household and educate children - what is important is that the choice is in her hands, and we as a society should allow her an optimal reality that will give expression to her choices and potential.

Hila Knister Bar-David is the CEO of "Your" Consumer Club and the CEO of the Association for Professional Advancement

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