Rather than outsource to India for cheap labor, Israel's high tech companies are increasingly setting up centers in haredi areas and hiring haredim, almost all of whom are women, to fill those roles. But the dirty little secret of the Israeli high tech boom is two-fold and truly ugly: men get paid significantly more than women for doing the exact same jobs, and haredi women get paid significantly less than secular women do.
Report: Haredi Women Help Fuel Israel’s High Tech Boom But Only Get Paid Paid Minimum Wage For Doing So
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
Rather than outsource to India for cheap labor, Israel's high tech companies are increasingly setting up centers in haredi areas and hiring haredim, almost all of whom are women, to fill those roles.
But the dirty little secret of the Israeli high tech boom is two-fold and truly ugly: men often get paid significantly more than women for doing the exact same jobs, and haredi women get paid significantly less than secular women.
According to a report in the Times of Israel, in high tech men earn an average of 15,800 NIS per month (about $4,100), while women earn and average salary of 8,771 NIS (about $2,300). But haredi women in high tech earn even less. The standard salary of a female haredi high tech worker is only 5,600 shekels per month (about $1,500) – essentially minimum wage.
Employers argue they hire haredi women to fill roles that would otherwise be filled by outsourcing to places like India. They also reportedly fear that haredi religious requirements – especially prayer breaks, frequent childbearing, the frequent inability to work night shifts (due to child-rearing requirements) and the universal inability to work on Shabbat (both times that international clients need services) – will disrupt their businesses. And that results in both discrimination in hiring and in lower pay.
But secular high tech employers also see value in hiring haredi women.
“They are extremely trustworthy and have a very high work ethic. I believe this comes from understanding the economic reality that they’re in, which makes them truly appreciate the income," Oran Singer, who owns a high tech company in Tel Aviv that outsources low-skill programming jobs to haredi women, reportedly said.