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Simhon: "Women are less intelligent than men, for evolutionary reasons" - voila! Sheee

2023-01-29T06:46:22.786Z


Prof. Avi Simhon was appointed chairman of the National Economic Council in Israel. Despite his harsh statements against women, the "Equal 60" initiative and associations call for the appointment to be revoked immediately


Among the gifts that the current government was able to shower upon us, here is the confirmation by the Appointments Committee of the appointment of Professor Avi Simhon, known for his sexist statements against women in the field of employment, to the chairman of the National Economic Council in Israel. In simple Hebrew, for those who get a kick out of the language of politics: a person who is going to have a great influence on conditions your employment, I don't think it's worth hiring you at all.



Simhon already served in the position from 2016-2021 during which, in 2019, his dark attitudes towards women became clear, as well as his humiliating attitude towards the specific women who worked under him, as a result of which the Civil Service Commissioner received a disciplinary notice. Considering the impending re-appointment, It seems that this comment is equivalent to the comment in the "personal file" with which the teacher in the 6th grade threatened you when you drew with a marker on the table.



Simhon never retracted his unfortunate statements, and thus the man who claims that "women are less intelligent than men for evolutionary reasons" and that families blessed with children are "the main cause of poverty in Israel", returns to one of the most senior positions in the management of the Israeli economy.

And yes, it should worry you.

all of you

is very.



Those who started to worry since the appointment came up, these are dozens of associations and women's organizations that joined in an extraordinary collaboration, led by the "Equal 60" initiative, which calls on the Civil Service Commissioner to disqualify the appointment and therefore - to send him emails.

All this with the aim of conveying a sharp, uniform and clear message: we are not ready for this.



They sent an email to the Civil Service Commission and expressed opposition to the appointment of Avi Simhon

"His appointment may also keep women away from senior positions" Yael Finkelstein (photo: courtesy of the photographers)

If the name "Equal 60" doesn't sound familiar to you, that's perfectly fine: the project whose goal is to promote gender equality in the Knesset was born a total of two years ago, led by Yael Finkelstein and Maya Kroll, young and ambitious students who contributed their experience in the media and their political knowledge to make everything accessible to us that we need to know about what is happening in the Knesset.



"This is the first time we have gathered so many organizations together to promote a move," says Finkelstein, with pride mixed with sadness at the grim decision ahead.

Under the current government, it seems that their big goal - to reach 60 members of the Knesset - is further away than ever, not to mention members of the Knesset who work for women, or at least do not work against them.

In the meantime, they are focused on thwarting the impending appointment.



"The role for which Simhon is intended has a great impact on decision-making and our lives," Finkelstein explains the importance of the move.

"It is already known about the accumulation of testimonies from women who worked under him and describe derogatory treatment, statements against women, against mothers and against maternity leave. His appointment may also alienate women from senior positions who are around him, because women in the next room cannot feel safe. The fact that he opposes maternity leave , this is already delusional. It cannot be that the one who accepts such responsibility for the Israeli economy holds such a concept."



Tahia Ben Tzur, CEO of the Women in Industry Forum - the executive community, which numbers approximately 94 thousand women, finds it difficult to hide the disappointment and pain from the latest news. She makes sure to keep the political discourse out of the forum, but the current issue is burning in her soul.

Yael Finkelstein and Maya Kroll (photo: courtesy of the photographers)

"I hear these things and fall to pieces, because this is my essence, this is what I get up for in the morning," she said.

"It is unbelievable that a person who is intelligent on the face of it, part of the action in this country, is able to say such things from his mouth. His attitude towards women is humiliating. In his opinion, it is impossible to hire women as managers, or in high-tech, or in general because they go on maternity leave... so why don't we stop procreating? ".



Along with the difficult feelings, Ben Tzur does not forget to point out that dozens of studies from recent years point to the vitality of women managers to society.

"They bring a new world view, a different point of view," she said.

And not only that: "Women board members are more profitable."

And here are some more interesting data compiled for us by Ben Tzur, for the attention of Mr. Avi Simhon:



In a study conducted by the Harvard Business Review, a survey of 7,300 business people was conducted, who were asked to rate the effectiveness of female and male managers.

They were ranked according to 16 different parameters, including taking initiative and drive for results, and found that women are ranked higher than men in 12 of the categories.



Another study from 2015, carried out by MSCI ESG on companies traded in the MSCI World index, found that in companies with strong female leadership, the return on capital was 10.1%.

This is compared to companies without a diverse board of directors, where the return on capital was only 7.4%.



According to a 2016 study by the Peterson Institute for International Economics, which examined data from about 22,000 companies worldwide, there is a very high correlation between female representation in key positions at the senior management level and profitability.

In profitable companies, the transition from a company without female representation in senior positions to 30% female representation is associated with a 15% increase in net profit.

"This appointment humiliates us in an unusual way" Tahitah Ben Tzur (Photo: Niri Gatmon)

But the promotion of women to key positions is essential not only for society in general (and when we say "society" we usually mean men) but also for them, that is, for ourselves.

Which, let me remind you, is about half of the world's population, even if people like Avi Simhon create the impression that it is a marginal minority.



"It is known that in the world, when there is a minority of women in management positions and in decision-making positions, women are harmed," says Ben Tzur.

"The wind that has been blowing in recent days is a terrible and terrible wind. This appointment humiliates us in an unusual way, humiliates female CEOs and managers and women who want to advance.

We work so hard for this, and also run the house.

As my son says, we are the administrative directors of life."



According to her, even without directly affecting the employment rights of women in Israel, Simhon's appointment to the position constitutes a huge damage to all of us due to the very message he conveys to the public. First of all, the appointment gives national legitimacy to Simhon's positions.



Attorney Gail Shoresh, who specializes in gender responsibility and is active in the association "Forum Deborah" for the advancement of women in security and foreign policy, also reflects a gloomy picture from the field. She is here, among other things, to explain to us a little about the behind-the-scenes of the appointment to this position, and who was supposed to prevent and did not prevent it On the way.



Well, by virtue of the civil service law, the appointment of the chairman of the National Economic Council is one of the appointments for which a tender is not required.

At the same time, before the government approves the appointment, an opinion of the Appointments Committee is required.

And who does the appointment committee consist of?

Of two men and one woman, aka Michal Halperin, the only one who opposed the appointment and lost the majority of two supporters.



As a result, the committee ruled that there is nothing wrong with the appointment, and all of this comes to teach you about the importance of placing women in positions of power.

If so, I will appeal to those who claim "I don't vote according to gender", and "what does it matter if there are women or men in the government, the main thing is that the person is talented" - in plain language, this is Hartabona.

"If the women's story is troubling and tiresome to people, there is a whole story here about the families in Israel": Attorney Gail Shork (Photo: Niri Gatmon)

"In light of the only opinion of Michal Halperin, the other two decided to write reasons for their choice," says Attorney Shork.

That is, they say no, and actually say yes - they say several things that contradict each other and belittle each other.

They should say out loud: the committee does not think this is a proper appointment."



It is important to note that legally, the Prime Minister is not really obligated to accept the committee's recommendation, and even so, according to her, "the appointment process is quite automatic.

The government will not object.

There won't be a situation where the Prime Minister doesn't approve it." That is, if nothing unusual happens on Sunday morning, if a huge feminist elephant doesn't land on the discussion table and cause a general experienced panic, the appointment will be implemented.



And yet, says Attorney Shork, it is important to send the emails to the Civil Service Commission, for two reasons. "One, because the public wants to have their say, and two, it's not over until it's over."

This story is not limited to old-fashioned notions against women.

Professor Simhon has been speaking out for years against families with children (20% of all families in Israel) and claims that they are responsible for poverty in the State of Israel.

This is an illusory position, and all the experts who were with him on the same panel said so." And



this is not the first time that Simhon has been subjected to harsh criticism from senior economists. As attorney Shork, alongside the chair of the women's lobby Ella Alkalai, well wrote for De Marker, Simhon is known to measure the The quality of its employees is based on inputs (working hours and availability) and not on outputs (results and achievements) and uses an outdated and problematic index, which men have a higher chance of succeeding in, regardless of their professionalism or achievements.



"He is against all of us," Attorney Shosh clarifies. "He is against more than 50% of the people in this country.

In 2015, Torah Judaism and Shas, who heard his comments about families blessed with children, tried to torpedo his appointment. If the women's story is troubling and tiresome to people, there is a whole story here about the families in Israel - Arabs, Jews, ultra-Orthodox, secular - that the son This person blames them for poverty in Israel."

"We did not make a sufficient attempt to find a suitable person for the position."

Equal to 60 against the appointment of Prof. Avi Simhon (Photo: Flash 90, Yonatan Zindel)

The lawyer adds that the current appointment should arouse our concerns regarding all concerned.

First and foremost, the Civil Service Commission.

"If the commissioner does not reject this appointment, does he share these positions - that women and mothers do not deserve to be in management positions? Is that what he thinks? We also need to ask, aren't there people in the State of Israel who are equally worthy, who are not tainted by dark and discriminatory opinions? In my opinion, no sufficient attempt has been made to find a person worthy of the position who has a long-term impact on every area of ​​our lives and on shaping the image of the State of Israel. It is impossible to find only Avi Simhon for him, with the cloud hanging over him."



Now, the final confirmation remains in the hands of Netanyahu, the same prime minister who found Simhon suitable for the position in his previous term.

Now Attorney Shorsh turns to him with a final request: "Come be the prime minister of all of us, you have a chance to prove it."

Don't appoint him." Further to this, we will mention that many appreciate Netanyahu for his economic skills. There is no doubt that Netanyahu has a broad and deep economic understanding. However, in light of his support for a chairman who is known today not only as offensive but also flawed in his management, it is appropriate to ask whether Netanyahu Here to enlist his skills for our benefit.

Very soon, the answer will be clear to all and sundry.



They sent an email to the Civil Service Commission and expressed opposition to the appointment of Avi Simhon

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Source: walla

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