Solicitud directa (CEACR) - Adopción: 2024, Publicación: 113ª reunión CIT (2025)

Convenio sobre la discriminación (empleo y ocupación), 1958 (núm. 111) - Israel (Ratificación : 1959)

Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention. Discrimination based on sex. Sexual harassment. The Committee notes from the Government’s report that, in 2022, the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) received 26 complaints regarding sexual harassment in the workplace. It also notes the Government’s indication that, in 2022 and 2023, the Authority for the Advancement of the Status of Women (AASW) engaged in various activities regarding sexual harassment, such as the launch of an online course for the prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace and the organisation of the “You Did Nothing” campaign aimed at raising public awareness on the issue. The Government adds that, in April 2023, it decided to establish the Ministry for the Advancement of the Status of Women, which replaced the AASW. The Committee observes, however, that, in January 2024, the new Ministry was shut down as part of budgetary adjustments aimed at offsetting war costs. The Committee therefore asks the Government to indicate which ministry or other government authority is now entrusted with promoting the advancement of women, and in particular dealing with the issue of discrimination in employment and occupation based on sex, including sexual harassment. It further reiterates its previous requests for information on: (i) the implementation and results of the national plan to fight sexual harassment; (ii) the progress achieved in setting up a new databank relating to sexual harassment complaints at the higher education level; (iii) the impact of the campaign launched to sensitize the general public to the legal framework in place to combat it; (iv) the implementation in practice of the voluntary code of conduct against sexual harassment in the workplace; and (v) the number of cases of sexual harassment detected by or brought to the attention of the labour inspectorate and the outcome of these cases, including information on the sanctions imposed.

Article 2. Promotion of gender equality in employment and occupation. The Committee notes that the Government does not provide information on the various programs initiated by the AASW to promote gender equality in employment and occupation. It also notes from the statistical data provided by the Government that in 2022: (1) the percentage of women aged 15 and above in the labour force was 60.1 per cent, compared to 66.6 per cent for men; (2) women were over-represented in certain sectors such as human health and social work activities (19.2 per cent of women compared to 5 per cent of men) or education (20.7 per cent of women compared to 6.3 per cent of men), while they were under-represented in industries such as information and communications (5.5 per cent of women compared to 8.9 per cent of men); and (3) the number of women employed in part-time jobs (707,300) was significantly higher than the number of men (406,300). The Committee further notes that, according to the 2023 Global Gender Gap Report of the World Economic Forum, the percentage of firms with female top managers remained low (10.10 per cent) and that there was a significant drop in the share of parliamentary and ministerial positions held by women (in 2023, only 24.20 per cent of parliamentarians and 12.50 per cent of ministers were women, while in 2022 these percentages were respectively 30 per cent and 25 per cent). Noting the replacement in April 2023 of the Authority for the Advancement of the Status of Women (AASW) by the Ministry for the Advancement of the Status of Women, as well as the subsequent shut down of this Ministry in January 2024, the Committee asks the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to promote gender equality in employment and occupation, in particular to actively: (i) address gender-based occupational segregation (both vertical and horizontal); (ii) promote the access of women to a wider range of occupations with career prospects and higher pay; and (iii) enhance women’s economic empowerment and access to decision-making positions. Please continue providing statistical data on the employment situation of women and men, in both the public and private sectors, if possible classified by branch of economic activity, occupation, level of education or qualification, seniority, age group, size of enterprise, and geographical area.

Equality policy on race, colour, and national extraction. Civil service. The Committee notes that the Government provides a copy of the Civil Service Diversity and Representation Report for 2022, indicating that between 2017 and 2022: (1) there was an increase of 3.9 per cent in the representation of Arab (including Druze and Circassian) employees in the civil service, and they now constitute 14.7 per cent of the civil service employees; and (2) there was also an increase in the representation of Ethiopian employees in the civil service, and they now constitute 3.7 per cent of the civil service employees. The Government states that these percentages meet the general representation goals set for the populations concerned, namely 10 per cent representation for Arab people and 1.7 per cent representation for Ethiopians. The Committee observes, however, that, according to this same report: “the achievement of government representation goals stems from the high representation rates in the health system, obscuring the non-compliance with those goals by other government systems”. The same report further indicates that, as the level of seniority in the civil service increases, the relative representation ratio of employees from a diversified background decreases. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures envisaged or taken to promote the participation of these minorities in the civil service, especially in sectors other than the health sector, and to ensure their access to senior level positions.

Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC).The Committee asks the Government to communicate a summary of the main findings (including statistical data) and recommendations of the annual report of the EEOC, based on the number and nature of complaints received and its interventions in legal proceedings regarding cases of discrimination in employment and occupation.