The Israeli Government has set a goal for women to fill half of the country’s senior Public Service positions within two years, and to allow the designation of some posts for women only to ensure the target is reached.
The plan was put forward by Minister for Social Equality, Meirav Cohen ( pictured) after a review revealed that of the nearly half of senior management positions in the Public Service which were held by women only 11 per cent were at the highest level.
Ms Cohen said gender equality, including in the most senior positions, would improve Government work and would be a signal to the business sector that the Public Service was setting an example.
Under the terms of the proposal, the Civil Service Commission has the authority to allocate positions for women at all management levels, including senior levels.
In addition, the Commission will be required to report that half of those sitting on monitoring and placement committees are women.
Until now, the Commission could only specifically designate positions to be filled by those from the Arab Israeli and Ethiopian Israeli communities.
The Government set a goal for 2023 that women would hold at least 50 per cent of the most senior positions, meaning those who worked directly with Directors General, such as their deputies, regional managers, Department heads, and section leaders.
A decision to ensure that women had equal representation in senior positions was taken by the Government several years ago under Ms Cohen’s predecessor, Gila Gamliel.
A Civil Service Commission assessment found that in 2019, 44 per cent of senior jobs in the Public Service were held by women.
However, the definition of ‘senior’ allowed by the Commission covered a broad range of positions including some that were not managerial, as well as branch and section heads, rather than just those who worked closely with Directors General of Ministries.
Director General of the Authority for the Advancement of Woman, Eva Madj’iboj said that even in workplaces where there was a clear female majority, management positions were still regularly taken by men.
“This is why the plan is so important, giving women the ability to advance to management positions and occupy a real place among decision-makers,” Ms Madj’iboj said.
Jerusalem, 20 October 2020
