Obstacles to labour market participation among Arab Palestinian women in Israel

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.

Automated summary

Despite improvements in educational attainment, Arab Palestinian women in Israel still have lower labor force participation rates compared to Jewish women. Factors such as socio-economic and demographic factors, level of religiosity, human capital assets, family structure, and public policies play a role in explaining this pattern, highlighting the need for labor market policies that address these factors.