There is no deliberate discrimination against women in the Israeli labor market, the ministry said.
The salary gap between men and women is considerably less than reported in the media, and there is no deliberate discrimination against women in the Israeli labor market, Ministry of Finance economists say. The findings were published today in a report on wage differences between the genders.
The annual report by the Ministry of Finance's Economy and State Revenue Division, headed by Tsipi Gal Yam, states, "Incorrect interpretations of the tax model show an apparent skyrocketing gap in income from wages and other sources between men and women. The misinterpretations have become conventional wisdom among the public, and has been publicized in the media. A careful examination of the data, taking into consideration the differences in work patterns between the sexes, show considerably narrower gaps.”
The report's compilers note several factors causing wage differences between the genders:
- Women constitute only a tenth of the self-employed. Since the income of the self-employed is significantly higher than the income of wage earners, the small number of self-employed women is a factor in the lower average income level for women relative to men. Consequently, while men's average annual income (both self-employed and wage earners) is 87% higher than women's, male wage earners earn an average of 56% more than female wage earners.
- Many women prefer working part-time, with flexible hours, while men tend to work in full-time positions. Surveys show that men work an average of 193 hours a month, while women work an average of 140 hours a month, a 38% difference. Taking this figure into account means that the wage gap between men and women is reduced to 13%.
- Men's average hourly wage is 23% higher than women's, but this difference is not evidence of discrimination, as it is mostly due to differences between the sexes in education, occupation, seniority, experience, work hours, and part time work.
- Men's average salaries are 1.9 time women's: NIS 9,647 to NIS 5,157. Men's tax burden is an average 31.6%, compared with 21,7% for women.
- The salary gap between the genders in the bottom decile is small: Men's average wages are NIS 791 and women's are NIS 651. In the second decile, the comparable figures are NIS 1,753 and NIS 1,206, a 45% difference. In the third decile, the comparable figures are NIS 2,830 and NIS 1,863, a 52% difference.
- The difference in income between the genders grows proportionally with income, reaching 2.4-fold in the top decile and 3.9-fold in the top 1%, in the men's favor. Women's average income in the top decile was NIS 16,935, while men's was NIS 39,944. In the top 1%, the comparable figures are NIS 37,300 and NIS 144,700.
Published by Israel's Business Arena on 26 June 2001