In the video: Tal Shalu with the female and male soldiers of the IDF in Gaza/photo: Tal Shalu
"If in recent years we have been busy trying to check the glass ceiling for women in the various fields, then in the 'Iron Swords' war this glass ceiling was shattered in a positive sense."
This is what Sigal Saror, who was recently elected chairman of the Shevat association, which runs leadership programs for girls and works to reduce the gender gap in Israel,
says. According to her, "After we saw the tank women, all the combat soldiers, the police officers, the women in the medical care teams, all these heroines it Made it feel like the glass ceiling shattered and no longer exists.
Now it's only up to us to reduce the huge cognitive gap that exists between the fact that girls - who will be the soldiers of tomorrow - can indeed dream, and the fact that women are almost never at the decision-making table - whether it's in management positions during their careers or in the army."
The Shevt Association was established in 2018 by the couple Dr. Roni and Eldad Posten-Corn, who were exposed to studies indicating a decrease of about 30% in self-confidence among teenage girls.
The studies in the field also indicated that girls at these ages fear failure and experience social pressures for unattainable perfection.
Based on these studies, the leadership program of the association for girls was built.
The activity has tripled its scope in the last two years, and today the association runs programs for over 3,000 girls a year nationwide.
Saror, 58, married to Dr. Haim Saror (CEO and owner of the start-up go-arc to prevent work accidents), mother of three children, served for the past four years on the executive board of the Shevat association.
She believes in the slogan If you can see it, you can be it ("In any field, if you see someone who has succeeded, then believe that you can too") and in the commitment of women who have already established a successful career to be a model for girls.
As part of her role, she led the Israeli "Girl's Week" (which took place last week) together with the association's management, was a partner in the establishment of the "Aut Shevat" project in which young girls are awarded certificates of appreciation for their activities, and accompanied the association in the processes of growth and expansion in recent years.
Scruffy.
"Even if you're still a girl, create a vision map for yourself that breaks down the dream into stages"/Micah Loubton
How to deal with failure
"When you ask a boy and a girl in kindergarten what they dream of becoming, their answers are the same in terms of their dreams, whether it's the dream of becoming a doctor or a scientist. Then in adolescence, already at the age of 10-11, there is a real drop in the self-confidence of girls and that's where the gap begins," says Seror.
"Unfortunately, even though the world has progressed, we still see that teenage girls' confidence is decreasing. This is where the association comes in and takes care of thousands of girls in meetings throughout the year, in leadership groups, with female students mentoring the girls in 25 cities across the country."
What does the program focus on?
"The treatment is mainly about the feeling of competence, developing a positive self-esteem. The girls learn to set goals, learn from failure, discover strengths. We measure the sense of competence at the beginning and at the end of the program, and we see a report of a significant improvement in the sense of competence and the increase in self-confidence. The bottom line is to allow the girl to feel that she is is able to dream and realize whatever she wants. We do not aim, as in other programs that I really appreciate, to engage in the field of science or robotics for that matter, but really take care of the side of dreams, self-confidence and self-realization. We really give tools how not to be afraid and how to deal with failure, So that these young women are not prevented from realizing their potential in whatever field they choose."
what were you like as a girl
"I am not included in the statistics, I was not one of the shy ones. I was always more around boys, I was very athletic, I was in the student council, in all the more leadership activities. At a very young age, I aspired to be a principal. It was something that motivated me from childhood. I don't know how it happened, But I had some kind of drive."
Saror, who has a master's degree in social psychology from Bar-Ilan University, serves as the chairman of the "Shavt" association on a voluntary basis, while for her living she is a board member and senior vice president of human resources at Kaltura, a global high-tech company listed on Nasdaq and providing a video platform to some of the largest organizations in the world In the past, she held human resources positions at the companies 888, Clearforest, Technomatics and Union Bank. She also initiated and established the start-up Gooodjob as well as Zoomd which was issued on the Canadian stock exchange. In addition, at the same time as her work in high-tech, she founded the "Yaldi Ha'or" association, and served as a member of the board of directors.
"I come from the career world," she says. "During decades as a person in charge of human resources and careers for women and men in organizations, I see that many women have internal barriers in the career field.
Many of them do not ask for management positions, do not ask for a salary increase like the men.
I, too, spent decades in a business environment that was more masculine and sometimes inhibiting."
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"Following a change in the job ads, we received a 30% jump in women's resumes"
Over the years, she adds and notes, a change is evident, especially among the younger guys.
"Their environment today perceives the world as more equal," she says.
"But we still need the girls and young women to push through that glass ceiling, which has already been shattered, and feel the same sense of equal competence. The war did the job, it proved that there is no glass ceiling in terms of competence. Now you don't have to feel that there is something blocking you from above, you can raise her head, dream and reach.
"It remains for us in the association and also in Israeli society to give those girls and women the feeling and the opportunity to make it come true.
Last week was the week of the Israeli girl, which was exposed to about 100,000 male and female students in the schools.
3,000 inspiring women from a variety of occupations voluntarily came to 3,000 classrooms throughout the country and spoke about gender equality and their personal stories.
They spoke in front of grades 6-11, in front of boys and girls.
The discourse was a discourse of competence, where the request is from both the girls and the boys to act in favor of gender equality."
Seror, as mentioned, is also in a senior position at a high-tech company, and in these worlds, too, she says, she has been engaged in gender equality for many, many years. "The Kaltura company has regretted its values of pluralism and equality, including gender equality," she says. "I guide the recruitment team and the managers to try to absorb women in an equal way, in order to reduce gaps."
Is it really successful?
"We have seen, for example, that for technological positions we receive resumes from men, and maybe only a woman or Two faces.
At the same time, we were exposed to an interesting figure that was published, according to which when a position is advertised and criteria are written, then a man says to himself: 'Of course I can' and submits a resume;
Whereas a woman often feels that she does not have enough experience or that she does not exactly meet the criteria, and does not submit a resume in advance.
Following this, I told the recruitment team to delete 30% of the recruitment criteria in the job advertisement, to allow women to look at the job and say 'I might have it'.
Then we will interview and choose the best ones.
Following a change in the job ads, we received a 30% jump in the resumes of women relevant to the position, and then I could really choose a woman for the position."
"At Shevt Association," Saror says, "we have a lot of business collaborations with dozens of organizations and high-tech companies.
Managers in the various companies empower the female students who educate the girls who participate in the association's program.
As part of all these partnerships, I see more and more women in technological and managerial positions.
The figures are rising, but not rising at the top, where there are still barriers."
What does this mean?
"We see more female managers in the middle ranks, such as a team manager, but fewer female managers in the senior ranks, such as board members.
To see talented excellent women in the most senior positions, companies really have to make a stated decision that they are looking to integrate women into senior positions.
For example, at Kaltura, we have 40% female board members."
Even on the subject of the wage gap between men and women, Seror says, there is still work to be done.
"At every conference I speak at, I say: 'You can't take me off the stage that deals with gender until I see that there is equality in pay.' Recruitment has a directive to maintain equality in pay. I have often been told: 'We want to accept this candidate. In terms of salary, she asked for 20% less than all the men.' Our answer is to go back to the same candidate and say that she asked for less and will receive more. the women into the world of work with the same salary as men, the gaps throughout the career will only grow."
The statistics, says Saror, "talk about a 30% gap in salary, but I think we have reduced the gap between the remuneration of a man and a woman in the same position to 20%. The gaps are getting smaller and smaller, but they have not closed. I always tell women: don't be ashamed to ask !".
The lack of female representation in decision-making centers.
"Companies should make a stated decision that they are looking to integrate women into senior positions"/Image processing, Shutterstock
After a difficult year for Israeli high-tech, a war of iron swords broke out and worsened the damage to the industry, but Seror is optimistic.
"I think that our country, among other things, is characterized by innovation, extraordinary entrepreneurship. This is something that is in the ethos of the State of Israel," she says.
"During my career, I have seen many crises over the years in the world of high-tech. I am sure that we will see the situation improve and even return to prosperity. I am optimistic for two reasons. History says that sometimes high-tech takes a beating, but always returns to be an economic and social engine as well. It will happen, it may take time, but It will happen. The second reason is the fact that we are built in Israel on an entrepreneurial approach, on the establishment of start-ups, on innovation in various fields, not only technological, so I am sure that it will return and so will the investments."
Do you have a tip for a girl who dreams big?
"Follow your heart. In terms of a career, go to the field you love, where you will have the most passion for success and probably also a talent that can lead you to success. It doesn't matter if the field is scientific or artistic, it's important that you follow your feeling. That's the only way you'll be able to truly believe in yourself Go as far as you can."
Another tip, Seror points out, is not to think that a dream is a distant thing.
"Even if you're still a girl, create a vision map for yourself that breaks down the dream into stages and then you can pick the dream, because it won't seem that far away. You also have to remember that a dream is like a game of 'ladders and ropes'. Sometimes you climb step by step according to the plan yours, but sometimes you also slide down. What is important is to develop the same tools of personal resilience, in order to climb back up again and remember that the dream exists and can come true."
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