ABSTRACT
Similar to trends in other developed countries, the labor force participation rate among Jewish women 1 in Israel has been rising during the past three decades from approximately 30 percent in the mid-1960s to almost 50 percent in the early 1990s. In contrast, the labor force participation rate of Jewish men has declined during that period from 76 to 62 percent. Not only did women increase their share in Israel’s labor market, but the skills of women workers have been improving, as indicated by their high levels of education (Israel 1994). In addition, equal employment opportunity laws protecting women from market discrimination have been enacted in Israel in recent years. One would expect that these trends led to a major improvement of women’s position in the labor market.
