A Double Disadvantage? Immigration, Gender, and Employment Status in Israel

This article examines gender differences in employment status among immigrants in Israel, and how these differences vary across origin groups. Analysis of the 1995 population census indicates that, all else being equal, immigrant women exert a negative effect on activity in the annual labor force. As time elapses, the probability of immigrant women being employed improves but remains considerably lower than that of both immigrant and native-born men. However, after a few years in the country, immigrant women do close the gap with native-born women. For employment status in the last week, being an immigrant woman has a positive effect on full-time employment. A detailed analysis reveals substantial stratification by country of birth. Thus, the patterns of employment status for immigrant groups can reflect different levels (single, double, and triple) of disadvantage or advantage for women. I attach this stratification to cultural background and social values of country of birth as well as to economic and religious considerations, not fully indexed by the census data.