Gender equality in israel

Two years after October 7, Israeli women still battle for equality - from the editor

As International Women’s Day approaches, the newest edition highlights women and their place in Israeli society since October 7

First Lady Michal Herzog, the cover story of this issue, greets schoolchildren during an official visit to Australia.
 Golda Meir, Israel’s first and only female prime minister, led through a small circle of senior advisers known as ‘Golda’s Kitchen’ from 1969 until 1974 – an exception in a political system where women’s authority has remained limited and largely isolated.

Visible everywhere, powerful nowhere: The paradox facing Israeli women

Six new Israeli Reform rabbis, all women, were ordained last year at the Hebrew Union College Taube Family Campus in Jerusalem.

A woman rabbi on healing Israel: Authority means service, not power - opinion

The outlook for increasing women’s participation in political life is bleak, with no women in the ultra-Orthodox parties, not a single party led by a woman, and none even committed to equal representation on their candidate lists.

Israel once ranked 48th for women in politics, now its 104th


'Bravery has never belonged to one gender': Israel's female combat legacy

As female combat soldiers take center stage in Israel’s current war, a historic site preserves the stories of women who have defended the state

Female combat paramedic soldiers stationed at their army base in Be’eri, just a few kilometers from the Gaza border.

Women's integration into IDF 'disaster': Rabbis send letter to Netanyahu demanding intervention

The letter came in response to the military’s new program, which would include women in the Armored Corps. It was written by leading rabbis in the religious Zionist sector.

 There is a high demand for combat roles among women in the November-December 2023 draft

Average salary in Israel rises in first half of 2025, as gender pay gap widens, NII data reveals

Israel’s National Insurance Institute released its first-half 2025 wage report, showing a 4.5% rise in average pay but a 43% median-to-mean gap and a 54% gender gap.

 View of the National Insurance Institute offices in Jerusalem. January 23, 2017.

New data maps Israel’s freedom divide: Liberal cities surge, conservative ones slip

The index measures municipal performance across 11 areas tied directly to daily life, including education oversight, gender-segregated events, religious budgets, and transparency.

Orthodox jews protest against Tel Aviv municipality Shabbat bus service, outside the home of Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai in Tel Aviv on December 7, 2019.

Israel's debate over women in combat was settled on the Gaza and Lebanon battlefields - opinion

The debate over whether women can serve in combat has been settled on the battlefield through two years of war.

Over the past two years, women have served on the frontlines in Gaza and Lebanon, performing under fire alongside their male comrades.

Dr. Esther Luzzatto to receive Ben-Gurion Award from BGU

She is being honored for her contribution to development of the Negev, high-tech, and gender quality

Dr. Esther Luzzatto,  public activist, social impact leader, and businesswoman.

Israel needs women in leadership - opinion

Our leadership is not only mostly male but also limited and failing. A political system without women at the table is distorted.

MEMBERS OF the cabinet headed by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid pose with then-president Reuven Rivlin, after the government was inaugurated in 2021. A breakthrough was achieved: nine women serving as cabinet ministers, the writer notes.

Israelis oppose gender segregation - opinion

The value of gender equality has eroded in Israel over the past two decades, but the majority of the public does not support separation measures.

 WOMEN AND children at a separate beach in Haifa. Supporters of separation see it as pluralism allowing religious people to operate in the public sphere while maintaining their lifestyles, the writer notes.

Inside Israel's struggle for true gender equality - opinion

Equality is the foundation for a better society.

 KETER GROUP employees at the factory in Karmiel: We must  combat outdated stereotypes that still prevail – suggesting  that technological and managerial positions are predominantly  suited for men, the writer affirms.

Israel's gender-wage gap worse than developed world and growing, Shoresh Institution says

They also highlighted that while the average gender wage gap of OECD countries is closing with time, Israel's gender wage gap has grown over the last 15 years.

 Women's wages as percent of men's wages.