Israel’s high tech industry facing harsh reality of female underrepresentation
Only 9.4% of startups were founded by women, who account for only 20% of senior management positions in companies and 16.5% of partner roles at funds investing in Israeli high tech. “It will take a long time before these gaps close,” says Innovation Authority head
Over the past few years, hundreds of millions of shekels have been invested in programs that aim to incorporate more women in the high tech sector in Israel. However, that hasn’t significantly improved their overall share in the industry. According to the “Women in High Tech” report published by the Israel Innovation Authority on the heels of International Women’s Day 2022, over the past decade, there has been a 1.5-fold rise in the number of female students who pursue STEM subjects in high school and college, but female students still comprise only 30% of all technical tracks. The report found that the main problem doesn’t stem from unequal educational opportunities, but hits much later: when women enter the military and the workplace.
The percentage of women serving in technological units in the Israeli military is surprisingly low: only 31% serve in computing and software units. According to figures provided by the Israeli military, in 2019 the percentage of women in cyber units was only 13%. And when it comes to women first pursuing an academic degree and then signing on to extra years of military service (the “atuda” program), the picture is particularly discouraging: only 15% pursue studies in engineering or exact sciences, even though 75% of those who choose these academic-military “atuda” tracks are women.
“Women comprise only 23% of all those who serve in cyber units in the military, and only 30.7% study high-tech related subjects in college. In Israeli venture capital firms, only 16.5% of all partners are women, and only 9.4% of high tech companies were founded by women,” said Dror Bin, CEO of the Israel Innovation Authority. “The trend is improving, but it is happening at a very slow pace. It’ll take a long time before these gaps close. The report we published today is simply a reflection of reality. We were surprised by the low percentage of women serving in technological units in the military. Another low point worth mentioning is that only 10% of all entrepreneurs are women, 20% of senior management positions are occupied by women, and only 16% of partners at venture capital firms are women.”
Why is that the case?
“I think that in this industry people prefer to hire those like themselves, and aren’t open to accepting someone different. Managers must understand how to promote excellent women. There are plenty of excellent accomplished women out there who aren’t receiving promotions because of these setbacks. I’m positive that we can change this equation. In the rest of the world, the situation looks a lot better, but I think if we wait longer to solve these issues then it will take another 20 years to shrink these gaps. A CEO has to consider there aren’t enough women at his company. Managers don’t want to harm a company’s competitive-edge, but they need to make a decision. The authority provides larger grants to female entrepreneurs. We don’t discriminate against men, but are trying to help women overcome the difficulty in fundraising that they face. There must be a way to encourage more women to enter the industry.”
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“We have set clear goals to increase the number of women in the high tech industry within two years, as well as increasing the number of women in the authority's training programs to 45%,” said Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology Orit Farkash Hacohen. “The Science Ministry has doubled its programs aimed at advancing future female scientists, as well as its programs promoting educational excellence for high school girls in engineering and exact sciences. Furthermore, research shows that female students beginning in elementary school start to show decreasing interest in the sciences, and therefore, we are working together with the Ministry of Education to create a program in high-tech education that will be launched at the start of the next school year, from kindergarten and up. This will enable us to formulate actions that will bring about real, positive change in this sector.”
