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The integration of ethnoreligious minorities into labor markets, particularly among women, is a key contemporary issue. The present study examines the associations among labor market outcomes (employment status, job type—full-time/part-time, wages, and rank), level of religiosity and residential area (in or outside ethnic enclaves) among Arab Muslim and Christian women in Israel. Both groups reside in predominantly Jewish and Arab localities but differ in terms of religiosity, with Muslims being substantially more religious. Utilizing official data from the Social Survey of the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics, covering a decade between 2013 and 2022, with a sample of 4112 participants, the study finds that both residential area and religiosity are associated with labor market outcomes, particularly among Muslim women. Religiosity is negatively associated with employment quality measures (job type, wages, and rank), while residing in predominantly Jewish localities is positively associated with labor market participation. An interaction effect is observed regarding wages and type of position (full/part time). This study contributes to theory by introducing residential area as a new factor explaining the negative association between religiosity and labor market outcomes, as well as advancing agent-based approaches to study ethnic enclaves.

This study examines the motivations of young Arabs—as a national minority in Israel—for enrolling in civic service contrary to the discourse of the Arab leadership, which repudiates their participation. Thirty-eight interviews were conducted with Muslim, Christian, Bedouin, and Druze Arab volunteers who acknowledged that although civic service would not end discrimination against them, it could improve their subjective feeling in their homeland. Civic service also plays a major role in resource accumulation, and a combination of meager family resources and significant high school achievement compels them to volunteer in order to pay for their undergraduate education. The program offers particular benefits for Druze and Bedouin women: in the absence of suitable jobs for religious women, it provides them with economic independence as well as religious protection. The draw of civic service stems from its role as a path that meets the unique needs of minorities, the middle class, and women.

The participation of Muslim women in the Israeli labor force is very low and stems from them being part of a traditional patriarchal society where women (especially religious ones) are still expected to be homemakers. Additionally, previous governmental policy decisions hindered a wide integration of Muslim women into the labor market. This study examined the centrality of life domains for Muslim women according to their religiosity degree. A questionnaire concerning the relative centrality of work, family, community, religion, and leisure was distributed among 219 Muslim working women. The findings show that work was more central for traditional women compared to secular and religious ones, but secular women ranked the centrality of family first and work second, similarly to the ranking in various Western countries. By contrast, traditional and religious women ranked work first and family second. Additionally, secular women ranked the centrality of leisure and community higher than traditional and religious women. The Israeli case is relevant in this regard because, similar to other Western countries, most Muslims in Israel form a distinct ethnic group, characterized by lower socioeconomic status and subject to political marginalization. The results have both theoretical and practical significance.

Hand injuries (HI) are common and may limit participation in work. The objective of this study is to examine the effect of ethnicity and other prognostic variables on return-to-work (RTW) among male manual workers after acute HI. A cohort of 178 subjects (90 Arabs, 88 Jews) aged 22 to 65 was studied. Trained bilingual occupational therapists evaluated and interviewed the subjects, using structured validated questionnaires for evaluating personal and environmental factors, body function and structure, and activity limitation and participation restrictions. Employment status 3 months post injury was assessed by a telephone interview. To establish a predictive model for RTW, ethnicity and certain variables of the four domains mentioned above were analyzed using logistic regression analysis. A significant difference in the rate of RTW between Jews and Arabs was found (45.5% for Jews, 28.9% for Arabs, p = 0.03) three months post HI. In the univariate regression analysis, ethnicity was associated with RTW (OR = 2.05; CI: 1.10-3.81) for Jews vs. Arabs. Using a multivariate analysis, only legal counseling, educational attainment, and the severity of disability were significantly associated with RTW. RTW three months post HI among manual workers is directly related to variables such as education and legal counseling and only indirectly related to ethnicity. Patients with a lower level of education and those who were engaged in legal counseling need special attention and close guidance in the process of RTW.

There are no studies that compare the work ethic of Jews and Muslims in and out of Israel. This study examines and compares the work ethic among Jews and Muslims in Israel according to their degree of religiosity. The sample included 898 Jews and 215 Muslims representing the labor force that filled out the Meaning of Work questionnaire. The work ethic dimensions were obligation norms, entitlement norms, and work centrality. Among Jews, the agreement with obligation and entitlement norms was the highest among religious respondents and the lowest among their secular counterparts, while secular Jews have higher work centrality than traditionalists, especially than religious Jews. Muslim society was found to be more homogeneous than Jewish society, as the work ethic dimensions among Muslims are not affected by religiosity degree and, even when it is controlled, the other demographic variables do not generally influence work ethic dimensions. The meaning of the findings and their implications are discussed.

The Haredi (or Ultra-Orthodox) sector is the fastest growing population in Israel, but the ability to study their working world is limited, and as far as we know, the work values of Haredi women (who are usually the main breadwinners) have not been studied to date. This unique study compares their work values with those of secular and traditional Jewish-Israeli women. The Meaning of Work (MOW) questionnaire was administered to 467 employed Jewish-Israeli women (309 Secular, 138 Traditional, and 120 Haredi), addressing values, attitudes, and aspirations at the workplace. The findings indicate that, while secular women ascribe more importance to individualistic values related to interesting work and variety than do traditionalist and Haredi women, no significant differences exist among the three groups concerning the interest in good pay, autonomy, interpersonal relations, or job security. In addition, a higher level of religiosity was associated with the importance of convenient hours and inversely associated with the importance of learning new things. Further, Haredi women attribute more importance to promotion and congruence between their personal abilities and experience and the job requirements than did women from the other two groups. Overall, the background demographic variables had little impact on work values. The findings can be explained by the different cultural values (collectivism versus individualism) and the obstacles Haredi women experience in the labor market.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine life domains centrality (work, family, leisure, community and religion) among workers, junior managers and middle managers, both men and women and the impact of demographic factors on those life domains. Design/methodology/approach The “Meaning of Work” questionnaire was conducted on 1,201 participants of whom 928, 453 men and 475 women, were employed in organizations in middle managerial, junior managerial and worker positions. Findings The findings indicate that work centrality increases while religion centrality decreases with higher organizational status among men and women. The centrality of family is higher among women than among men in the three organizational levels. However, in the new millennium, for the first time in Israel, no traditional gender differences were found in work centrality among employees in the three organizational levels. Practical implications Human resource professionals have to take into consideration the increasing work centrality among working women at all organizational levels and focus on decreasing work-family/life conflict, especially among women managers. This can be achieved by implementing flexible hours, working from home, work-life balance programs, and management by objectives systems. Originality/value This study, which compares middle managers, junior managers, and workers according to gender, reveals how they balance the five life domains as well as the strategies women managers use to cope with work/non-work conflict.

Purpose This article aims to provide an examination of the impact of Jewish religious tradition on attitudes toward life domains among Jewish Israeli women. This is the first study of importance of life-domains among women in the ultra-Orthodox community: the fastest growing population in Israel. This population exhibits a unique occupational pattern in which women are the primary economic actors. As women are transitioning into more central occupational and economic players throughout the world, this research has both theoretical and practical implications. Design/methodology/approach In total, 567 employed Jewish Israeli women (309 secular, 138 traditional and 120 ultra-Orthodox) completed a survey about relative importance of life domains. Responses were analyzed via mean-comparison tests, ANOVA and regression analysis. Findings Surprisingly, religiosity was associated with higher lower work centrality. Work centrality was the highest among ultra-Orthodox women, and family centrality the lowest. Centrality of religion increased and centrality of leisure decreased with religiosity. No differences emerged regarding centrality of community. Research limitations/implications A limitation of this study is that attitudes toward life domains are based on one-time responses to one question. With that, the psychometric characteristics of the measure and its wide-spread use indicate its acceptability and applicability for the issue studied. Practical implications The data point to changes in the attitudes of ultra-Orthodox women toward life-domains. Those changes and the increased presence of these women at the workplace challenge both organizational and community leaders to reexamine how to best react to and benefit from the above. Social implications Ultra-orthodox society is a fundamentalist, enclave society that has, generally, been able to retain traditional internal social and familial patterns until now. However, increased exposure of community members – and particularly women – to a variety of organizations and individuals operating in them, may be contributing to changes in attitudes of those women regarding their traditional social and familial roles. Originality/value This study closes gaps in research examining the impact of religion and of gender on work attitudes. It does so among women in the fastest growing population of Israel, that exhibit a unique occupational pattern that can contribute to both theoreticians and policy planners regarding implications of the transition of women to more central economic roles.

Purpose Over the course of time, more and more women have been joining the labor force, achieving meaningful roles and managerial positions. The purpose of this paper is to examine contemporary meaning of work (MOW) among men and women in different organizational statuses and the impact of other demographic factors on the MOW dimensions. Design/methodology/approach Out of 1,201 participants that filled out the MOW questioner, 908 were employed in organizations as middle managers (118 men and 67 women) or junior managers (120 men and 97 women) and workers (208 men and 298 women). Findings No differences were found between men and women middle managers regarding MOW dimensions. It was found that the higher the organizational status, the higher the work centrality and intrinsic orientation and the lower the economic orientation, among both men and women. Regression analysis reveals that demographic variables have a low impact on the MOW dimensions and hardly explain the differences among men and women. Practical implications The understanding of contemporary MOW similarities and differences among men and women according to organizational status and the impact of varied demographic variables on those differences can influence the way organizations consider men’s and women’s (both managers and workers) needs in their working life, with implications for their satisfaction and productivity. Originality/value While there are various studies about gender differences regarding work values and the MOW, not a single study focusing on the differences in the MOW between managers and workers according to gender was found.

Based on the findings of the 2006 “Meaning of Work” survey, this article examines the relative “life domain centrality” of work, family, leisure, community and religion across a representative sample of the Israeli labour force comprising 463 men and 446 women. While confirming that family centrality remained stronger among women than men, male and female respondents ranked work equally high, marking a departure from women's traditionally weaker preference for this life domain. Regression analysis identifies socio‐economic factors that partially explain the attitudinal differences between men and women. Overall, the results suggest a growing risk of work–family conflict among Israeli women.