Women's Budget Forum

Gender and transportation

The patterns of travel by women and the use they make of transportation are different than those of men. This difference stems from gender inequality within the home and the labor market, the urban structure, and other factors

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Non-Transferable Paternity Leave

In recent years, some countries in the European Union have launched initiatives to promote gender equality that seek to encourage men to actively participate in caring for their children. This approach evolved from an understanding that the true equality in the labor market between men and women will not be achieved without an egalitarian division of housework and childcare. One such initiative has been the granting of equal, non-transferable paternity leave to fathers. In other words, the father is granted an allowance equal to 100% of his salary in order to care for his child. This leave-period cannot be transferred, in whole or in part, to the mother.

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The purpose of a gender analysis of taxation policies is to identify the differential impact of these policies on women and men. This paper examines the repercussions of reduced income tax and corporate taxes since 2003 on women and men in Israel. Although taxation appears to be gender-neutral, not distinguishing between men and women, social norms and economic arrangements have fostered different realms of responsibility for women and men within the household and the workforce, and therefore taxation systems impact them differently.

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New Position Paper:

Shortage of Childcare Facilities:

A Key Obstacle in the Way of Employment Opportunities for Arab Women

Atty. Ola Shtewee and the Women�s Budget Forum, January 2010

The critical need for preschool childcare facilities is not in debate. Many studies have noted the importance of these frameworks for the integration of women into the job market (e.g., Fichtelberg-Barmatz, 2008; Bank of Israel, 2007). Indeed, one of the primary barriers preventing women from working outside the home is the shortage of such facilities for children under the age of three. This paper seeks to clarify this problem, which impedes the interation of Arab women into the workforce, and offer solutions. It will focus on two types of childcare facilities: daycare centers and family daycare units. Daycare centers are almost entirely lacking for the Arab population, while family daycare units, relatively more common, are beset by problems.

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