ABSTRACT
The participation of Jewish women in the labor force has risen steadily since the early years of statehood, from 27.9 percent of all women over the age of 14 in 1955, to 50.6 percent in 1995. As in other Western societies, the increase in the participation of women has been accompanied by a decline in the participation of men. The Israeli Jewish population is divided between Western and Eastern Jews. Several characteristics that distinguish these two ethnic groups have a direct bearing on women's tendency to enter the labor force. First, Eastern Jewish families tend to hold more traditional attitudes toward women's role as housewives; second, they tend to have more children; and third, their educational level tends to be lower than that of Western Jews. An important gender characteristic of the labor force is the unemployment rate of men and women. One major factor enabling women to enter labor force is the increase in their level of educational attainment.
