ILR

International Labour Review

0020-7780 1564-913X

10.1111/ilr.12386

Obstacles to labour market participation among Arab Palestinian women in Israel

MIAARI

Sami H.

samimiaari@tauex.tau.ac.il KHATTAB

Nabil

nabil.khattab@dohainstitute.edu.qa SABBAH‐KARKABI

Maha

mahasab@bgu.ac.il

Tel‐Aviv University Doha Institute Ben‐Gurion University of the Negev

02 12 2023

162 4

10.1111/ilr.v162.4

587 614

Despite recent increases in educational attainment among Arab Palestinian women in Israel, their labour force participation rates continue to be below those of Jewish women. This study draws on data from the Israeli Labour Force Survey and Social Survey covering the period 1995–2016 to investigate whether this pattern can be explained by socio‐economic and demographic factors, level of religiosity, human capital assets, family structure and related public policies, and early retirement. All these factors are found to affect the probability of Arab Palestinian women participating in the labour market, raising implications for labour market policies.

labour force participation Arab Palestinian women public policy gender ethnicity religiosity early retirement Israel

Abdelhadi, Eman. 2017. “Religiosity and Muslim Women's Employment in the United States”. Socius 3 (January–December). https://doi.org/10.1177/2378023117729969.

Abu‐Baker, Khawla. 2002. “‘Career Women’ or ‘Working Women‘? Change versus Stability for Young Palestinian Women in Israel”. Journal of Israeli History 21 (1–2): 85–109.

Abdelhadi, Eman. 2016. “Gender Policy in Family and Society among Palestinian Citizens of Israel: Outside and Inside Influences”. In Handbook of Israel: Major Debates, edited by EliezerBen‐Rafael, Julius H.Schoeps, YitzhakSternberg and OlafGlöckner, 453–474. Berlin: De Gruyter Oldenburg.

Almagor‐Lotan, Orly. 2010. “Employment for Arab Women Academics” [in Hebrew]. Jerusalem: Knesset Research and Information Center. https://fs.knesset.gov.il/globaldocs/MMM/af4d6b58-e9f7-e411-80c8-00155d010977/2_af4d6b58-e9f7-e411-80c8-00155d010977_11_9176.pdf.

Becker, Gary S.1965. “A Theory of the Allocation of Time”. Economic Journal 75 (299): 493–517.

Bloemen, Hans, and Adriaan S.Kalwij. 2001. “Female Labor Market Transitions and the Timing of Births: A Simultaneous Analysis of the Effects of Schooling”. Labour Economics 8 (5): 593–620.

Blundell, Richard, ThomasMaCurdy, and CostasMeghir. 2007. “Labor Supply Models: Unobserved Heterogeneity, Nonparticipation and Dynamics”. In Handbook of Econometrics, edited by James J.Heckman and Edward E.Leamer, Vol. 6 (Part A), 4667–4775. Amsterdam: North‐Holland.

Cinamon, Rachel Gali, HalahHabayib, and MargalitZiv. 2016. “The Conception of Work and Higher Education among Israeli Arab Women”. International Journal of Educational Research 76:129–140.

Connor, Phillip, and MatthiasKoenig. 2015. “Explaining the Muslim Employment Gap in Western Europe: Individual‐Level Effects and Ethno‐religious Penalties”. Social Science Research 49 (January): 191–201.

Dahl, Svenn‐Åge, Øivind AntiNilsen, and KjellVaage. 2003. “Gender Differences in Early Retirement Behaviour”. European Sociological Review 19 (2): 179–198.

Duncan, Brian, V. JosephHotz, and Stephen J.Trejo. 2006. “Hispanics in the U.S. Labor Market”. In Hispanics and the Future of America, edited by MartaTienda and FaithMitchell, 228–290. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

England, Paula. 2005. “Gender Inequality in Labor Markets: The Role of Motherhood and Segregation”. Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State and Society 12 (2): 264–288.

Ernst Stähli, Michèle, Jean‐MarieLe Goff, RenéLevy, and EricWidmer. 2009. “Wishes or Constraints? Mothers' Labour Force Participation and its Motivation in Switzerland”. European Sociological Review 25 (3): 333–348.

Finch, Naomi. 2014. “Why Are Women More Likely than Men to Extend Paid Work? The Impact of Work–Family Life History”. European Journal of Ageing 11 (1): 31–39.

Flippen, Chenoa A.2005. “Minority Workers and Pathways to Retirement”. In The New Politics of Old Age Policy, edited by Robert B.Hudson, 129–157. Baltimore, MA: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Greenlees, Clyde S., and RogelioSaenz. 1999. “Determinants of Employment of Recently Arrived Mexican Immigrant Wives”. International Migration Review 33 (2): 354–377.

Hook, Jennifer L.2006. “Care in Context: Men's Unpaid Work in 20 Countries, 1965–2003”. American Sociological Review 71 (4): 639–660.

ICBS (Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics). 2019. “The Druze Population in Israel Gathers Data on the Occasion of the Feast of the Prophet Shu'ayb ”, 17 April 2019 [in Hebrew]. https://www.cbs.gov.il/en/mediarelease/Pages/2019/The-Druze-Population-of-Israel.aspx.

ICBS (Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics). 2022a. Labor Force Survey 2020, October 2022. Jerusalem: Central Bureau of Statistics.

ICBS (Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics). 2022b. “Births and Fertility in Israel, 2020 ”, 21 February 2022 [in Hebrew]. https://www.cbs.gov.il/en/mediarelease/Pages/2022/Births-and-Fertility-in-Israel-2020.aspx.

Kabeer, Naila. 1994. Reversed Realities: Gender Hierarchies in Development Thought. London: Verso.

Kabeer, Naila, AshwiniDeshpande, and RaguiAssaad. 2019. Women's Access to Market Opportunities in South Asia and the Middle East & North Africa: Barriers, Opportunities and Policy Challenges. London: Department of International Development, London School of Economics and Political Science.

Kasir, Nitsa (Kaliner), and EranYashiv. 2020. “The Economic Outcomes of an Ethnic Minority: The Role of Barriers”, IZA Discussion Paper No. 13120. Bonn: IZA Institute of Labor Economics.

Keinan, Tamar, and DoritBar. 2007. “Mobility among Arab Women in Israel”. Haifa: Kayan Feminist Organization.

Khattab, Nabil. 2002. “Ethnicity and Female Labour Market Participation: A New Look at the Palestinian Enclave in Israel”. Work, Employment and Society 16 (1): 91–110.

Khattab, Nabil, and RonJohnston. 2015. “Ethno‐religious Identities and Persisting Penalties in the UK Labor Market”. Social Science Journal 52 (4): 490–502.

Khattab, Nabil, RonJohnston, and DavidManley. 2018. “Human Capital, Family Structure and Religiosity Shaping British Muslim Women's Labour Market Participation”. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 44 (9): 1541–1559.

Khattab, Nabil, and SamiMiaari, eds. 2013. Palestinians in the Israeli Labor Market: A Multi‐disciplinary Approach. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Khattab, Nabil, SamiMiaari, MarwanMohamed‐Ali, and SarabAbu‐Rabia‐Queder. 2019. “Muslim Women in the Canadian Labor Market: Between Ethnic Exclusion and Religious Discrimination”. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility 61 (June): 52–64.

Khoudja, Yassine, and FenellaFleischmann. 2015. “Ethnic Differences in Female Labour Force Participation in the Netherlands: Adding Gender Role Attitudes and Religiosity to the Explanation”. European Sociological Review 31 (1): 91–102.

Khoudja, Yassine, and LucindaPlatt. 2018. “Labour Market Entries and Exits of Women from Different Origin Countries in the UK”. Social Science Research 69 (January): 1–18.

Kraus, Vered, and Yuval P.Yonay. 2018. Facing Barriers: Palestinian Women in a Jewish‐Dominated Labor Market. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Lewin‐Epstein, Noah, and MosheSemyonov. 2019. The Arab Minority in Israel's Economy: Patterns of Ethnic Inequality. New York, NY: Routledge.

Loretto, Wendy, and SarahVickerstaff. 2015. “Gender, Age and Flexible Working in Later Life”. Work, Employment and Society 29 (2): 233–249.

Maes, Julie, JonasWood, and KarelNeels. 2019. “Early Labour Market Trajectories of Intermediate and Second Generation Turkish and Maghreb Women in Belgium”. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility 61 (June): 65–78.

Malchi, Sharon. 2013. “The Role of Public Transport in the Entry of Women from the Arab Population in Israel into the Work Cycle ”, Study No. 45, Fellows Program. Koret–Milken Institute [in Hebrew]. https://milkeninnovationcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/45-HB-F-WEB.pdf.

Miaari, Sami. 2012. “Arab Women in the Labour Market: Empirical Implications and Policy Orientation”. Shefa‐Amr: Galilee Society.

Miaari, Sami, NabilKhattab, and RonJohnston. 2019. “Religion and Ethnicity at Work: A Study of British Muslim Women's Labour Market Performance”. Quality & Quantity 53 (1): 19–47.

Miaari, Sami, AsafZussman, and NoamZussman. 2012. “Ethnic Conflict and Job Separations”. Journal of Population Economics 25 (2): 419–437.

Mincer, Jacob. 1962. “Labor Force Participation of Married Women: A Study of Labor Supply”. In Aspects of Labor Economics, edited by !!Universities‐National Bureau Committee for Economic Research, 63–105. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Moghadam, Valentine M.2004. “Patriarchy in Transition: Women and the Changing Family in the Middle East”. Journal of Comparative Family Studies 35 (2): 137–162.

Mudrazija, Stipica. 2010. “Gender, Race and the Transition to Retirement among the Baby Boomers ”. Paper presented at the Population Association of America 2010 Annual Meeting, Dallas, TX, 15–17 April 2010.

Osundina, Olawumi Abeni. 2020. “Sustainable Development: Does Improvement in Education and Health of Women Improve Female Labour Force Participation Rate?” Sustainable Development 28 (1): 13–24.

Pignatti, Norberto. 2020. “Encouraging Women's Labor Force Participation in Transition Countries”. IZA World of Labor2020: Article No. 264v2. https://doi.org/10.15185/izawol.264.

Pit, Sabrina W., and VibekeHansen. 2014. “Factors Influencing Early Retirement Intentions in Australian Rural General Practitioners”. Occupational Medicine 64 (4): 297–304.

Read, Jen'nan Ghazal. 2003. “The Sources of Gender Role Attitudes among Christian and Muslim Arab‐American Women”. Sociology of Religion 64 (2): 207–222.

Read, Jen'nan Ghazal. 2004. “Cultural Influences on Immigrant Women's Labor Force Participation: The Arab‐American Case”. International Migration Review 38 (1): 52–77.

Read, Jen'nan Ghazal, and Philip N.Cohen. 2007. “One Size Fits All? Explaining U.S.‐Born and Immigrant Women's Employment across 12 Ethnic Groups”. Social Forces 85 (4): 1713–1734.

Read, Jen'nan Ghazal, and SharonOselin. 2008. “Gender and the Education–Employment Paradox in Ethnic and Religious Contexts: The Case of Arab Americans”. American Sociological Review 73 (2): 296–313.

Reimers, Cordelia W.1985. “Cultural Differences in Labor Force Participation among Married Women”. American Economic Review 75 (2): 251–255.

Reitz, Jeffrey G., Mai B.Phan, and RupaBanerjee. 2015. “Gender Equity in Canada's Newly Growing Religious Minorities”. Ethnic and Racial Studies 38 (5): 681–699.

Sa'ar, Amalya. 2015. “Palestinian Women in the Israeli Workforce and the Idea of Economic Citizenship”. Economic Sociology_The European Electronic Newsletter 16 (2): 14–20.

Sa'ar, Amalya. 2017. “The Gender Contract under Neoliberalism: Palestinian‐Israeli Women's Labor Force Participation”. Feminist Economics 23 (1): 54–76.

Sabbah‐Karkabi, Maha. 2021. “Education, Gender Ideology, and Housework in the Palestinian Family in Israel: Implications of Contradictory Social Change”. Journal of Family Issues 42 (4): 839–862.

Schnell, Izhak, and IlanShdema. 2016. “The Role of Peripheriality and Ethnic Segregation in Arabs' Integration into the Israeli Labor Market”. In Socioeconomic Inequality in Israel: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis, edited by NabilKhattab, SamiMiaari and HayaStier, 207–224. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

Shalev, Michael, and AmitLazarus. 2013. “The Welfare State as an Employer: An Unacknowledged Avenue of Opportunity for Palestinian Women in Israel”. In Palestinians in the Israeli Labor Market: A Multi‐Disciplinary Approach, edited by NabilKhattab and SamiMiaari, 153–182. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

Smooha, Sammy. 1992. Arabs and Jews in Israel. Vol. 2, Change and Continuity in Mutual Intolerance. New York, NY: Routledge.

Spierings Niels. 2014. “How Islam Influences Women's Paid Non‐Farm Employment: Evidence from 26 Indonesian and 37 Nigerian Provinces”. Review of Religious Research 56 (3): 399–431.

Spierings Niels. 2015. Women's Employment in Muslim Countries: Patterns of Diversity. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Spierings, Niels, JeroenSmits, and MiekeVerloo. 2010. “Micro‐ and Macrolevel Determinants of Women's Employment in Six Arab Countries”. Journal of Marriage and Family 72 (5): 1391–1407.

Thévenon, Olivier, and AngelaLuci. 2012. “Reconciling Work, Family and Child Outcomes: What Implications for Family Support Policies?” Population Research and Policy Review 31 (6): 855–882.

Totouom, Armand, VincentDe Paul Mboutchouang, and Hervé KaffoFotio. 2018. “The Effects of Education on Labour Force Participation in Cameroon: A Gender Perspective”. African Development Review/Revue africaine de développement 30 (1): 45–55.

Yashiv, Eran, and Nitsa Kasir (Kaliner). 2013. “Arab Women in the Israeli Labor Market: Characteristics and Policy Proposals”. Israel Economic Review 10 (2): 1–41.

Yinon, Hayuta, and LilyOrland‐Barak. 2017. “Career Stories of Israeli Teachers who Left Teaching: A Salutogenic View of Teacher Attrition”. Teachers and Teaching 23 (8): 914–927.

Yonay, Yuval P., and VeredKraus. 2017. “The Role of the State and the Pliability of Tradition: Israeli Palestinian and Middle‐Eastern Jewish Women in the Labor Force”. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility 50 (August): 29–39.

Yonay, Yuval P., MeirYaish, and VeredKraus. 2015. “Religious Heterogeneity and Cultural Diffusion: The Impact of Christian Neighbors on Muslim and Druze Women's Participation in the Labor Force in Israel”. Sociology 49 (4): 660–678.