How far have women come - and how far yet to go?
i24NEWS speaks with three women working towards the achievement of gender parity in Israel
Since the early 20th century, people around the world have been celebrating International Women’s Day. In some countries it’s a national holiday. In others, it's just an excuse for men to show their loved ones how much they mean to them. But every year, the United Nations designates a theme pertaining to political and social issues.
This year, that theme is gender parity - closing the gap, in all areas of life.
Plenty are the industries that are stereotypically known as "male"; but gradually, women's presence in these fields are increasing.
To mark International Women's Day, i24NEWS, spoke with a few of these women who are, through their work, contributing towards the achievement of gender parity in Israel.
Olga Bermant, partner and director at Tel Aviv-based Private Equity Fund Catalyst, was recently honored by being chosen for the prestigious Forbes 30 under 30 list. Bermant is rapidly rising through the ranks -- the youngest person to have ever been made partner in her firm.
“Traditionally the world that I'm in, investment, and the world of tech and hi-tech is more male-dominated," Bermant acknowledges. She says, however, that at Catalyst there are four women in their team of ten. "So that's quite a good balance," she reflects. "And looking at my friends who are in senior positions as well, they are by far not alone, so I think we can always do more, but I think Israel as a case study, is actually doing quite well.”
When Silvi Jean, Israel’s top female soccer player of all time, started playing football in 1998, she had to go to Norway as women's football didn't even exist in Israel at the time. "When women's football started in Israel, it did start to develop. But we still see big gaps in men and women's salaries, and the credit that they get, it still doesn’t reach the same level as men," she laments.
Though Jean is now a retired professional football player, she still does her bit to promote the position of Israeli women in sport, and is currently working for Athena- the Israeli Council for Women's Sport. "The Athena project really advances women in all areas of sport," Jean says, as she prepares to deliver a speech to Athena participants in Netanya. "I tell my life story, as a sportswoman, as someone who fought against all odds, to be a football player. Because I have a sad story, I lost both my parents along the way. But despite everything, I fought for my love of football."
Jean also coaches amateur female football groups to encourage girls and women to take up the sport. "Every woman who wants to play football can do so. I recruited mothers, and in this way I also got the girls, because there's always the stigma that it’s a male sport."
Security and counter-terrorism is another industry typically associated with men, a reality foreign policy and security researcher Dr. Benedetta Berti, hopes will change, as the current generation of university students she teaches, embark on their careers.
"Working in foreign policy but more importantly in the security field, it's quite obvious that there is still a lot of work to be done in terms of achieving gender equality," she tells i24NEWS. "If you look at the number of people in the room then definitely in the past few years there are more women coming to the table. But if you look at who is occupying the power, who is taking the decisions- then there are definitely many more men and that is something that we need to work to change. My field is one of the old boys’ clubs."
Bertie opines that young women entering male-dominated fields have to work harder than their male counterparts to establish a reputation and prove their worth. "I think by and large, as a man, you have it easier. But once you pass that barrier, it's fine." Breaking the barrier is a hurdle Bertie herself has overcome.
"I'm proud of being able to go into a room full of people of different demographics, gender, and to be able to hold my own. I think it takes longer for young women to believe in themselves - now I aim to encourage my young students to do the same. It's also about progressing and getting to senior positions, and that's where I think we have bottlenecks."
Bertie asserts that as half the population, it's only fair that women's voices are heard. She adds that the voices of minorities should also be heard, "so it's an inclusive conversation."
She further notes that when it comes to war and peace, there are aspects of war that impact women in a different way, such as sexual violence and forced migration. Thus, she concludes that it's important to hear women's opinions and understandings of these issues.
Bermant also mentions conflict, when discussing gender parity, but smaller scale conflict- in the workplace. "In certain situations, like negotiation or sometimes when there is a conflict, I think sometimes women are better equipped to take a step back and see the situation in a different light, especially when the conflict is between two men, for example. That can bring a different perspective."
"But the most important thing is that the woman is equally heard as the man, and I don’t think it's ever about the just the gender," she states. "I think the whole point of equality is not for us to be the same; the whole point of equality is to take the strengths of a man and the strengths of a woman and to take them for what they are rather than trying to see them as the same."
Tamara Zieve is an i24news correspondent