Arab women in (not) the workforce


October 31, 2012
Sarah Benton

Discrimination against Arab women

The large number of unemployed Arabs, and in particular of unemployed Arab women, should trouble every Israeli citizen.

Haaretz Editorial

October 12, 2012

The rate of workforce participation among Arab women is only 28 percent, compared to 80 percent for nonreligious Jewish women. The barriers preventing Arab women from looking for work are many, but one of the main ones is their exclusion from the job market. That is what emerges from an analysis published this week by Prof. Eran Yashiv of the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies, based on new unemployment data generated by changes in how the Central Bureau of Statistics conducts its employment survey.

Yashiv’s analysis showed that unemployment in the Arab community is much higher than previously thought. Some 18 percent of Arab women and 11 percent of Arab men are unemployed. The unemployment rate for Arab men is twice that of Jewish men, and that of Arab women is three times that of Jewish women. All in all, Arabs account for 30 percent of Israel’s unemployed – some 50 percent higher than their proportion in the general population.

It is not surprising that only 28 percent of Arab women even attempt to find work if 18 percent won’t find it in any case. The low probability of finding a job creates a barrier that causes many women to give up in advance. The significance of the fact that so many women do not find work is that even women with high motivation aren’t managing to integrate into the Israeli workforce.

It’s possible the problem is related to the limited supply of jobs in the periphery, where most Arab towns are located. But it also seems to be related to the fact that employers are not overly happy to employ them. Or to put it more bluntly, the figures reveal the full extent of discrimination against Arabs in general, and Arab women in particular.

The large number of unemployed Arabs, and in particular of unemployed Arab women, should trouble every Israeli citizen. These harsh figures show that the state must act forcefully to combat discrimination against Arabs in the work place and to encourage companies to hire them. The government should start by setting an example: Today, only 8 percent of government employees are Arabs. That is even less than the goal the state set for itself – 10 percent – and well below their share in the population.


Regional female employment

From ETF Women and Work Project in Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia

[ETF, European Training Foundation, a EU agency]

The region has the lowest female labour force participation and employment rates in the world

• Average female labour force participation rates estimates 20%-25%

• Egypt: female activity rate 22% (male 71%)

• Jordan: female activity rate 23% (male 72%)

• Tunisia: female activity rate 26% (male 71%)

• Labour force participation of both men and women increases with education

• Education (in particular higher education) has a stronger impact on women’s (than men’s) economic activity

• Unemployment rates of both men and women increase with education (mismatch of education and labour market needs) but women’s unemployment increases even more (then men’s) with higher educational levels

………………….

Supply of female labour

• Women underrepresented in tourism studies and training

• Women are almost as well represented as men in ICT studies

• Fewer women than men apply for jobs in both sectors

• Inadequate supply of skilled female workers willing to take up jobs in particular in tourism (hotels and restaurants) due to negative perceptions of the society about certain sectors and jobs

“Men respect their female colleagues but they would never go so far as to marry one.” (young woman employed in tourism)


European Neighbourhood:a statistical overview*

Eurostat, 2009

EXTRACT

The activity rates in most ENP countries are lower than in the EU-27, with significant gender differences, particularly in the ENP-South countries, where crude activity rates for women are less than half the rate in EU-27 (Israel being the only exception). The share of the primary sector in employment is also much higher in all ENP countries than in EU-27 (again with the exception of Israel).

Unemployment is particularly high for females in the ENP-South countries. In fact, while male unemployment has decreased in most ENP countries since 2000, the same cannot be said for female unemployment. Youth unemployment is higher in most ENP countries than in the EU-27.

[*The European Neighbourhood Policy countries of the southern and eastern Mediterranean countries, ENP South, are: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestinian Authority, Syria and Tunisia. ]

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