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Israeli Job Market Closed To Arab Women Graduates

The Israeli economy loses an estimated NIS 30 billion annually because most Arabs are not being employed.  
Mariam Aborkeek mixes plants with olive oil for her "Desert Daughter" soap in the Bedouin village of Tel Sheva, near the southern Israeli city of Beersheba, February 11, 2013. The cosmetics line, set up in 2005, is the brainchild of Aborkeek, a Bedouin. Brought up by the female members of her family, Aborkeek said she decided to share her Bedouin beauty secrets by transforming them into a variety of lotions and cosmetic products, using ingredients like desert melon, cumin, and bitter apple. Picture taken Fe

The past five years have seen an increase in dozens of percent in the number of Arab women attending universities and colleges in Israel. Currently, they outnumber male Arab graduates. Reality in Israel, however, pours cold water over this impressive figure, compiled by the Office of the Prime Minister. Despite the growth in the number of students, only 27% of Arab women are employed, compared with 74% of Jewish women. 

There are a variety of reasons for this, with cultural-religious factors last on the list in terms of importance. Higher on the list are a series of objective sectorial difficulties, such as a lack of public transportation, access to urban employment areas and lack of proper training. On Oct. 29, the prime minister’s office will hold its fifth annual convention for the Arab sector. The employment challenge will be one of the main agenda items among the discussions, which will be attended by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and nearly all government ministers.

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