On Monday, August 1st, the Mossawa Center brought dozens of Arab women to the Knesset’s Committee on the Status of Women and Gender Equality to speak in support of equitable employment and their economic rights. Only 22 percent of working-age Arab women in Israel are employed, compared to 58 percent of Jewish women. The discussion was atteneded by Kneseet Members Aida Touma, Ahmad Tibi, Amir Peretz, Basel Ghattas, Ayman Odeh, Ilan Gilon, Ksenia Svetlova, Michal Rozin and Yousef Jabareen. 

The Mossawa Center’s efforts on Monday were part of a new campaign advocating the protection of economic rights of Arab Women and promoting the employment of Arab women, specifically those with college degrees. The campaign is titled: “We Want to Work, We Won’t Stay Silent Anymore.” By involving more Arab women in Knesset deliberations, the Mossawa Center aims to advance more equitable economic development for the Arab community.

“The government must focus seriously on bringing Arab women into the workforce,” said Mossawa Center Director Jafar Farah. “The marginalization of Arab women is a major barrier to the growth of Arab communities which is already constrained as a result of various discriminatory state policies.”

In the tech industry, for example, Arab women account for less than one-half of a percent of all workers. In civil service, Arab women account for 3.7 percent of employees. Both of these figures would be closer to 10 percent if the employment of Arab women in these sectors were proportional to the Arab population in Israel, as the Arab community accounts for 20 percent the population in Israel.

Arab women are often underemployed, underpaid or both. Sixteen percent of Arab women are paid less than 2000 NIS (US$520) per month. Of Arab women who are employed, 90 percent work part time. Arab women also struggle with a wage gap, when compared to their Jewish counterparts: on average, Arab women are paid 40 percent less than Jewish women in similar positions.

The unjustly high unemployment rate among Arab women is a major impediment to reducing poverty in the Arab community. At present, 52 percent of the Arab population in Israel lives below the poverty line.

Arab women in Israel are graduating from college at an increasingly high rate. The percentage of working age Arab women with a college degree has been growing at a rate of almost one percent per year since 2003. This demonstrates their potential, as a currently untapped resource, to bolster Israel’s economy.