נתוני הלמ"ס שנאספו מקרב אקדמאים בתקופה של 3 שנים מסיום התואר, מצביעים עדיין על פערים בלתי נסבלים של עשרות אחוזים בשכר בין נשים וגברים. נתון חמור לא פחות: גברים אקדמאים מהמגזר הערבי מרוויחים בממוצע 67% ממשכורתו של עמיתם היהודי; בתחום המחשבים צונח הנתון ל-39%
 
מיקי פלד, "כלכליסט" פורסם:  01.06.09, 18:06 
 
הפער בין המינים בהכנסות מעבודה, גם בקרב אקדמאים, מגיע עד ל-75%, בתקופה של עד 3 שנים מיום קבלת התואר. כך עולה מנתוני הלשכה המרכזית לסטטיסטיקה, שמתפרסמים היום (ב') ושנאספו מקרב בוגרי תואר ראשון בשנים 2000-2004. 
 
באופן מפתיע, הפער הגדול ביותר נמצא דווקא בקרב הבוגרים בעלי תואר ראשון במינהל עסקים - בו גברים הרוויחו 75% יותר מאשר נשים. בקרב בוגרי מתמטיקה, סטטיסטיקה ומדעי המחשב עומד הפער על לא פחות מ-74%, אצל בוגרי מדעי הטבע מדובר בפער של 69% ובקרב בוגרי לימודי המשפטים הפער במשכורת עשוי להגיע עד ל-65%. באופן פחות מפתיע אולי, בוגרי מדעי הרוח הם ה"שיוויוניים" ביותר, עם פער של 54% לטובת הגברים.
 
בלמ"ס מסבירים את הפער בין המינים בכך בהתפלגות של תחומי הלימוד, בשעות עבודה קצרות יותר בקרב נשים וגם בהבדלי גיל, שכן נשים בישראל מסיימות את לימודיהן בגיל מוקדם יותר מאשר גברים, בשל השירות הצבאי.
 
פערים גדולים נמצאו גם כאשר נעשתה השוואה בין ערבים ליהודים. על-פי הנתונים, ערבים בוגרי תואר ראשון הרוויחו בממוצע רק 67% ממקביליהם היהודים. הפער הגדול ביותר הוא בקרב בוגרי מתמטיקה, סטטיסטיקה ומדעי המחשב - תחום בו ערבים הרוויחו רק 39% ממקביליהם היהודים. מהנדסים ואדריכלים ערבים הרוויחו 49% ממה שמשתכרים יהודים בעלי אותו תואר. משפטנים ועורכי-דין מהמגזר הערבי השתכרו 65% מהשכר של עמיתיהם מהמגזר היהודי לכיתת הלימוד.
 
שיעור התעסוקה בקרב הבוגרים בשנת קבלת התואר היה 85% בממוצע והוא עלה ככל שחלף הזמן מסיום הלימודים. כך, שיעור התעסוקה של בוגרי שנת 2000 - ארבע שנים לאחר קבלת התואר - הגיע ל-90%.
 
מצבן של הנשים הערביות הלא-אקדמאיות חמור פי כמה
 
בארגון הערבי-פמיניסטי כייאן אומרים, כי "הנתונים המוצגים ע"י הלמ"ס מצביעים, ללא ספק, על בעיה חמורה במצבן התעסוקתי של נשים ערביות. נתונים אלו מראים, שהנשים הערביות סובלות מאפליה כפולה, זאת בגלל השתייכותן לשתי קבוצות המופלות מבחינת שכר - קבוצת הנשים והקבוצה הערבית.
 
"חשוב לזכור", אומרים בכייאן, "כי נתונים אלו מתייחסים רק לנשים בעלות תואר ראשון ולפיכך אינם משקפים במלוא החומרה את המצב האמיתי בשטח, אלא מהווים חיזוק לנתונים קיימים. נשים ערביות רבות מועסקות בתנאים פוגעניים, במסגרתם רבות מהן מקבלות שכר הנמוך בפועל מזה המדווח, או שאינן מקבלות את הזכויות הנלוות לשכר, להן הן זכאיות על-פי חוק".
 
* כתבה זו הועלתה גם באתר כלכליסט.
 

Kayan's latest publication "Vacations, sick leave and maternity leave" (in Arabic) explains in simple language the complex legal matters surrounding the rights of workers to vacation, maternity leave and sick leave. Many women, especially part-time workers and day laborers, are unaware about their basic right for paid time off to recover from sickness, to care for newborns and sick relatives and to satisfy their basic need to rest. Kayan advises them about their rights and how to demand them from their employers, and also informs them that these basic rights cannot be waived voluntarily.

Download at: http://www.kayan.org.il/Public/publications/vacations.pdf

The Directory gives full contact information of the Greek-Orthodox and Greek-Catholic family courts in Israel. The brochure also provides an overview over the legal authority and independence of the Ecclesiastical courts. In addition, Kayan has published the Greek-Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Canon laws on its website (in Arabic). Kayan is the first institution to publish this information, counteracting the inaccessibility and lack of transparency of the Ecclesiastical Courts that harms Christian women's access to justice.

Download at: http://www.kayan.org.il/Public/publications/Ecclesiastical%20Courts%20brochure%20Jan%202010.pdf

Report in Arabic about panel "The Ecclesiastical courts - Overview and Women's Rights" at http://www.kayan.org.il/ar/inner.php?ID=153

Congratulations to Kayan's volunteer Nosayr Yassin on winning a shared third price in the youth essay contest of the Women's Learning Partnership on the occasion of 30 years of CEDAW!

Here is the winning essay:

Round Stones or Full Rights
Nuseir Yassin, Israel

"Never let the hand you hold, hold you down" This expression is completely true among the Arab society of women here in Israel. Though inconceivable as it may be, Arab women here in Israel, generally speaking, are facing tremendous forces trying to hold them down, yet, with great difficulty and unprecedented bravery, women that I have known are outstandingly strong before suppression by their most beloved ones.

In a generally conservative Arab community, women and young girls alike are struggling to earn their most fundamental freedoms: the freedom of speech, movement, and ideas. Starting with the most basic of all, the freedom of speech is the wish of most Arab women here in my community, for they cannot express their opinions or points of views lest they get suppressed by their own surroundings. "Family honor", as obsolete as it may sound, is still a frequently used term that most likely serves as the reason behind an incident where a woman pays the price.

Furthermore, the condition of women is far from being equal to that of men's. Women are destined to stay at home and men are free to go to wherever they wish. This injustice to women is what I believe to be the reason behind a corrupt offspring. The apple does not fall far from the tree, and neither does the offspring of suppressed women. Thus, the mighty men of today need to understand clearly that granting their poor women their most basic rights, such as the freedom of movement, is the key factor for a thriving community.

Although I am not a woman, I still sympathize with those women that need to look, sound, and act morally perfect as to fit the primitive traditions of their community. Based on my observations among the masculine world, if a woman greets men in a peculiar way then the woman is instantly not worthy of "being married", for she will be put on the men's black list. In addition, men tend to treat women as objects rather than as human beings with feelings and innovative ideas. And even though I am being highly critical towards men, I believe that women in Israel are yet to show their true hidden capabilities. All that is needed is to overcome a few obstacles.
The most pressing issue for the minority of Arab-Israeli women in the conservative Arab-Israeli community is the influence of community itself, which, undoubtedly, involves religion, society, and traditions. For a helpless woman to face rigid traditions is a great challenge. One example of how rigid a tradition can be is depicted in the following true story: One girl noticed that her mother cuts both the head and the tail of a fish before cooking it in the pot. She asked her mother why she does that, and the mother said that she got this habit from her own mother. The daughter then addressed her grandmother with the same question and she got the same answer. At last, the daughter addressed her great grandmother and the latter replied: "I cut the head and the tail of a fish because the pot was too small to fit". The traditions involving how we should treat a woman are simply inherited. So for a fragile woman to change the way we cut the fish is a painstaking task that requires substantial resources and efforts.

In order to empower men and abridge the gaps between both sexes, we need to fully understand the community that we are facing. By saying we, I mean that both sexes need to come together as one unit and grant equality to the underprivileged sex that has suffered for so long due to having a "small pot". A complete understanding of the bases on which the community stands is required.

Furthermore, women need to face their community as one unit, and not as individuals. When "divide and conquer" method is practiced, women need to unite against the community, by the community, and for the community.

Plus, if you are going to change a tradition, come up with something better. And so should women come up with a more efficient method in which human rights of both sexes are guaranteed, and moral rules in the community are not neglected. Change, but maintain.

Last but not least, change is not immediate. Although women are in desperate need to be given their rights, they should be aware that the road of amendments is long and changing the views of extremists and moderates alike takes a considerable amount of time. I have witnessed women coming together as one unit to a local feminist organization called Kayan in hopes that tomorrow will be better. Currently, we are trying to build virtual bridges that will soon allow women to move freely in their village, with no unjust restrictions whatsoever. Sooner or later, I believe, those women will succeed eventually.

"Some questions cannot be answered. They become familiar weights in the hand, round stones pulled from the pocket, unyielding and cool."
- Jane Hirshfield, poet, Princeton Class of 1973

This quote fully represents underprivileged women that are facing the pressure of their conservative communities. Yet, with the help of a unified position against obsolete traditions, the quote can be adjusted to become like this:

"Some questions can be answered. They become gifts given to our grandchildren. Full human rights pulled from history books, permanent and ubiquitous."

Kayan - Feminist Organization and Bokra.net have teamed up to give
legal advice for Arab women in Israel who are exposed to violence and victims of
crimes. Two interviews with Shirin Batshon-Khoury, Coordinator of
Kayan's Legal Department, were posted last week, giving
advice to women on how to escape domestic violence and explaining the
legal rights of victims of crimes.

You can find the two articles on:
http://www.bokra.net/article.aspx?id=646322
http://www.bokra.net/Article.aspx?id=654380

1st survey on sexual harassment at work published by Israeli government body - initiated and supplemented by Kayan and other women's NGOs.

Kayan's new brochure "Dismissal Compensation" explains in simple language the complex legal matters surrounding the right of women workers for compensation in case of dismissal, alerting women of that right and of the amounts. The brochure details the circumstances under which women are entitled to compensation even if they resign from the job voluntarily, such as the need to seek protection from domestic violence in a women's shelter and childbirth. The brochure can be downloaded at: http://www.kayan.org.il/Public/publications/Piturim.pdf

Israel`s Transportation Ministry announced in July that for the first time in Israel`s history, public transportation services will be offered to Arab settlements. Within two months, new public transportation bus lines will begin operating in Arab villages in the North and Center of Israel. Public transportation is planned to be introduced into all Arab towns and villages.

This is an unprecedented success for the rural Arab women who fought for mobility in their localities over the course of six years, through the project Women Demand Mobility facilitated by Kayan - Feminist Organization. Unable to travel from place to place, they were cut off from the work-force and economic activity, from health and social services, from educational institutions, and from participation in their communities.

"Friends, I want to attend an empowerment workshop, but it is difficult for me to come. If there is no man to drive me, I have to go by foot for an hour!" said a woman in Kayan`s empowerment group in 2003. This statement initiated the project, aiming to bring public transportation to all Arab towns and villages in Israel. At first, the women simply did by themselves what the state would not do for them. Only later, they realized that a reliable and sustainable service needs involvement from the state. This was the beginning of a major advocacy campaign directed towards the authorities, carried by women`s pressure groups in numerous villages, leading to today`s success.

"Rights and Obligations of Women as to National Security Insurance Contributions" is the title of Kayan`s new brochure, encouraging uninsured women to pay the obligations so as not to forfeit their social rights. Many women are unaware that they have to pay contributions and believe that they are insured, including unmarried women who are unemployed and do not claim unemployment benefits, married women whose husbands are not employed and do not have social insurance, and pupils and students above the age of 18. The brochure details the process of payment and the consequences of failing to do so. Download at: http://www.kayan.org.il/Public/publications/NII%20duties.pdf

We are happy to share big news with you - Arab towns and villages will finally get bus routes! The Transportation Ministry recently announced that within two months, new public transportation bus lines will begin operating in Arab villages in the North and Center of Israel. What a great success for Kayan's "Women Demand Mobility" program! Read more about this and other great news in our latest newsletter 2/2010 on http://www.kayannewsletter.blogspot.com/

From the content:
--Welcoming New Staff, Board and Controlling Committee
--Thanks to Kayan`s Interns
--Kayan`s General Assembly 2010 Held in Majd al Krum
--Gaining Public Transportation, Arab Women Make History

News from "JUSUR (Bridges) - Developing and Institutionalizing the Grassroots Movement of Arab Women in Israel"
--"Women`s Activism for Social Change" Opens Third Round
--Forum of Arab Women Leaders Continues PR Training
--New Community Projects Started in Nahef and Majd al Krum
--News from Local Community Projects

News from the Legal Department
--New Publication about Dismissal Compensation
--New Publication about National Security Insurance Contributions
--New Publication about Civil and Mixed Marriage
--Roundtable Discusses Obedience Regulations in Religious Family Law
--Training Volunteers for Giving Emotional Support to Clients
--Forum for Sexual Harassment Prevention Discusses New Strategies
--Educating about legal protection against Sexual Harassment
--Court Agrees to Hear Kayan`s Legal Opinion in Celebrity Sexual Assault Case
--First Survey on Sexual Harassment at Work by Israeli Government Body Published
--A Case from the Legal Department: Why Should Your Children Stay With You?

News from "An Active Approach towards Personal Economy"
--New Workshop Group Starts in Yafia