Equal Employment Opportunities in Israel 23 3 2010

Equal Employment Opportunities in Israel 23. 3. 2010 Tziona Koenig-Yair, Adv. National Commissioner

Employment in Israel Unemployment in Israel, 2009: 8. 5%

Survey of discrimination in Israel • • • 27% reported feeling discriminated against at work 45. 5% reported feeling age discrimination at work 39% reported feeling discrimination against the Arab population at work 35. 6% reported feeling discrimination against mothers of young children at work. 30% reported feeling gender discrimination at work 32. 1% reported feeling ethnic origin discrimination at work

E. E. O. C. Goals • To promote the mainstreaming of equality and the elimination of discrimination in the workforce • To foster public awareness to the price paid due to discrimination • To become the focal point for information on discrimination in the workplace Increasing employment security, promoting independence and promoting personal – social empowerment

Strategic Goals • Engaging employers as partners • Promoting cooperation with government offices, civil service, employers and employees and NGOs • Becoming a source of information to employers and employees on diversity management and equal employment opportunities • Offering professional, accessible and reliable legal advice to employers and employees • Promoting equality and diversity and inclusion via the media

E. E. O. C’S Competencies • To foster public awareness (best practices, website in Hebrew and Arabic, participation in conferences) • To handle complaints (total appeals since 2008 - 742) • To instruct through a legal order to employers to submit data • To file lawsuits at labor courts (10 lawsuits since 2009)

Test Case Abdul Karim v The Railway Authority • The requirement of military service as a mandatory condition to be accepted to work as a railway “watchman” raised the question of discrimination • The Labor Court adopted EEOC’s legal opinion that: • Requiring military service as a mandatory condition is discriminatory unless proven that the experience is essential to the specific job

Total appeals to the E. E. O. C - 2009 498 Appeals

Total appeals to the E. E. O. C January – March 2010 147 Appeals

The Twinning Project • The project's purpose is to strengthen the institutional capacity of the E. E. O. C in challenging discrimination in the workplace learning from the EU’s best practices • The EEOC will draw on the expertise and experience of the Northern Ireland Commission and other equality bodies across the EU (20 experts) • The duration of the project is 24 months, leaded by Bob Niven (Former Chief Executive of Disability Rights Commission, UK)

The Twinning Project Goals: • Creating good practice agreements with employers • Developing awareness-raising strategies • Building legal and quantitative data bases • Creating an overall longer term strategy

THANK YOU WWW. MOITAL. GOV. IL/SHIVION

Equal Employment Opportunities Bill Discrimination on the basis of: age, sexual orientation, religion, ethnic origin, reserve duty in the army, pregnancy, personal status, fertility treatments, gender, nationality Discrimination is prohibited: acceptance to work, work conditions, promotion, termination of work relations