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"Mothers' fine": The state is the biggest discriminator - Walla! Of money

2021-12-15T07:10:09.216Z


The publication of the "mothers' fine" of the chief economist in the Ministry of Finance, should have been at the top of the public agenda. In practice even to the government he did not move: discrimination begins under state auspices


"Mothers' fine": The state is the biggest discriminator

The publication of the "mothers' fine" of the chief economist in the Ministry of Finance, should have risen to the top of the public agenda, as it indicates a built-in discrimination of at least 50% of the population.

In practice even for a government that boasts of some service with a record of a struggle for gender equality, it has not moved: Discrimination begins under state auspices

Sonia Gorodisky

15/12/2021

Wednesday, 15 December 2021, 08:45 Updated: 09:02

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Wage policy that discriminates against women is not a new phenomenon and is unfortunately perceived as the norm in Israel.

Although the wage gap between men and women has narrowed sharply in recent decades in Israel: from 47% in 1990 to 34% in 2019, it remains almost twice as high as the OECD average.



The government does not seem to see gender discrimination as an acute problem that requires immediate treatment and does not set clear goals for reducing wage disparities.

The proof of this is the wage gaps that exist in government companies and the small number of women in senior management positions in them.



It is precisely in these places that are supposed to set an example for private employers that inequality is particularly noticeable - zero CEOs and one chairman of government companies indicate that the issue is not really of interest to the government, even though the current government has quite a few services known as fighters for gender equality.

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Notice what happens to women's income from work after the birth of their first child.

This gap may not be closed throughout their careers (Photo: Ministry of Finance spokeswoman)

One of the reasons for the wage gap between men and women is the "mothers' fine" or the rate of decline in women's wages after the birth of the first child.



The report by Chief Economist at the Ministry of Finance Shira Greenberg published this week shows that it stands at 28%.

In the first year after giving birth the women's wage drops by 30% and then ten years later a 27% gap is still maintained between them and the men.

The "mothers' fine" explains about 50% of the gender gaps in the labor market.



Although the proportion of women working in Israel is relatively high compared to the OECD, when looking at the wage gap, a picture that is not particularly flattering to Israel is obtained.

In 2019, the average monthly salary for men was 16,000 gross, while for women it was about 10.7 thousand.

This is double the average of the OECD countries.

And where are we in relation to the world?

The effect of the birth of a first child on income from work by country (Photo: Ministry of Finance spokeswoman)

"Marriage penalty" in Arab society

The mothers' fine in Israel is mainly due to a decrease in the number of jobs for women after the birth of their first child and less because of leaving the labor market.

In addition, after the birth of the first child, the data indicate that women choose to work at higher rates near home - which reduces their employment opportunities.



In Arab society, there is a unique phenomenon in which the gender gap opens up significantly in the year of marriage, before the birth of the first child.

The "marriage fine" of Arab women in relation to Arab men after a decade stands at 35%, higher than the mother fine among non-Haredi Jewish women (28%).



Despite the high fertility rate, the maternity fine in Israel is not high by international standards.

At the same time, we note that the Treasury made only a partial comparison and did not include many countries.



Greenberg's analysis shows that the fines for mothers in Finland (25%) and Sweden (26%) are not far from those of Denmark and Israel.

In the US (31%) and the UK (44%) the maternal fine in the long term is higher than in Israel and Austria (51%) and Germany (61%) is the highest among the countries examined.



Differences in the maternal fine in the short term (one to two years) can Due to the extent of maternity leave given to a parent, for example in Germany, where maternity leave is relatively long, the decline in women's employment is very sharp in the year of birth and the year after (so in Austria), because women disconnect from the labor market over time.

Why does the state not support, through employers, maternity pay - in the first year after birth? (Photo: ShutterStock)

Gender pay gaps exist all over the world, why are they higher in Israel?

There are several reasons why the gender pay gap in Israel is twice as high as the OECD average. One of them is the prevailing perception in Israel that a woman should bear a greater burden in caring for children and therefore be forced to give up the scope of her job. The second reason is the lack of adequacy between the vacation days in schools and kindergartens and the number of vacation days that the employees receive.



The negative reason is that the education system up to the age of three in Israel is not sufficiently developed and causes many mothers to extend maternity leave, due to a lack of faith in the system.



What can the state do to improve the situation?



First of all, the government should set clear numerical targets that reduce inequality in the employment market.

In the past, a wide range of tools has been proposed that may reduce the phenomenon, including improving the day care system, including subsidizing dormitories for lower-income couples, reducing the number of school vacations, men's maternity leave, supporting employers who employ women so that their wages are not harmed.



And there are other solutions, which can be implemented immediately.

Like for example, abolishing this concept of "mother servant" when talking about the level of salary (has anyone ever heard of a father servant?).

Serving a mother is an excellent solution for working mothers and allows them not to leave the circle of employment, but on the other hand, their wages decrease according to the decrease in the number of hours, and the question is why the state can not support women who gave birth at least in the first years through the employer?

After all, an employee who is employed as a servant does not go to the beach, on days when she leaves earlier.

  • Of money

Tags

  • wage

  • Chief Economist

  • fine

  • motherhood

  • discrimination

  • Government companies

Source: walla

All business articles on 2021-12-15

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