Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100) - Israel (Ratification: 1965)

Gender pay gap. The Committee recalls the significant gender pay gap in 2009 of 34.29 per cent for the total population, 38 per cent for the Jewish population and 23.1 per cent for the Arab population, and the important gender pay gap in the civil service. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government regarding trends in the overall gender pay gap indicating that the gender wage gap amounted to 33 per cent in 2016, down from 37 per cent in 2010. When looking at monthly and hourly average income, the Government provides data from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) indicating that in 2014 the gender gap in the gross average wage monthly income was 33 per cent, this went down to a gender gap in the gross average income of only 16 per cent, if differences in hours of work were taken into account (with men working longer hours than women in paid work). The Committee further notes from the data published by the CBS on the gross monthly income of wage employees by occupation in 2015 that considerable gender income differences exist in favour of men in the majority of occupational groups, and particularly “Administrators”, “Business professionals and academics”, “Practical engineers, technicians, agents and associated professions”, and “Sales and services workers”, as well as “Professional employees in agriculture and industry”, while the gap in the gross monthly income of male and female “Unskilled workers” and “General officials and office workers” is smaller. The Committee asks the Government to continue providing detailed and updated statistical information disaggregated by sex on the distribution of men and women in the different sectors and occupations (including caregivers) and their corresponding earnings, including data for the different population groups, so as to allow an evaluation of the progress made over time in reducing the monthly and hourly gender pay gap, especially in those sectors and occupations where the gap is the widest.

Article 2 of the Convention. Measures to promote equal remuneration. With reference to its previous request regarding the impact of the “Equivalent Project: For Promoting Equal Pay”, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Project entered its third and last year in 2015, and that it is still too early to evaluate its impact. However, the Government indicates that a survey carried out under the Project revealed a significant increase in awareness among women employees of the existence of gender wage gaps, although there was much less awareness among men employees. The Committee also notes that tools have been developed for public and private sector employers, such as the Wage Calculator and the Guide for Employers, which were launched in June 2015 as part of a media campaign. The Government reports that in-depth processes have been carried out in five major organizations with over 100 employees in the public and private sectors to examine wage differentials (using the Wage Calculator, interviews and surveys) and to formulate responses to address wage inequalities. The Government indicates however that the process has been found to be complex and to necessitate considerable resources on the part of the organization, but that there is the potential for improving internal working procedures, from which both men and women employees can both benefit. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures taken to promote the use of the Wage Calculator and Employer Guide by public and private sector employers and to assess its impact in reducing the gender pay gap. The Committee also asks the Government to continue providing information on any other measures adopted, in cooperation with workers’ and employers’ organizations, to promote equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value and to reduce the gender pay gap, including, for example, by examining its extent and its causes, promoting a greater understanding of the concept of equal value and measures to address occupational gender segregation.

Scope of comparison. The Committee has been referring to the need to extend the scope of comparison, as provided for under section 2 of the Male and Female Workers Equal Pay Law, 1996, to extend it beyond the same employer or workplace. The Committee notes that the Government does not provide additional information in this respect. Given the occupational sex segregation in certain sectors, the Committee once again asks the Government to indicate what measures are being taken or envisaged to extend the scope of comparison to ensure that the principle of the Convention can apply even in the absence of a male comparator in the same workplace or with the same employer.

Article 3. Objective job evaluation. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the outcome of the Employment Dispute (Jerusalem) Case File No. 8143-08-10, The Equality Commission v. Jerusalem, and the Employment Dispute (Jerusalem) Case File No. 18503-06-12, The Equality Commission v. A private company. Noting that no information has been provided in reply to its previous request to indicate the specific measures adopted with the objective of establishing a mechanism for the objective evaluation of jobs, the Committee asks the Government to provide such information in its next report. The Committee also asks the Government to continue providing information on the use made by litigants in equal pay cases of the possibility of requesting the appointment of a job evaluation expert under section 5 of the Male and Female Workers Equal Pay Law 1996, as well as on any measures taken to raise awareness of this possibility among workers and their organizations.

Article 4. Cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations. While noting the information on the composition of the two advisory committees of the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC), the Committee asks the Government to provide information on the specific activities of these committees to promote the principle of the Convention, as well as information on any additional measures adopted in cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations to give effect to the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. The Committee reiterates its request to the Government to indicate the manner in which the Diversity Management Models implement the principle of the Convention, as this information was not provided in the report.

Enforcement. The Committee reiterates its request to the Government to provide a copy of the Supreme Court ruling requiring employers paying different wages to men and women to prove that this is not due to gender discrimination, as well as any other judicial decisions concerning the principle of equal remuneration for men and women for work of equal value. It is also requested to provide information on any progress made in adopting legislation on compensation in equal pay cases.