Calcalist: “All the Big Names” means 16 men and ONE woman
A gigantic two-page spread in this weekend’s newspapers advertising an economic conference by Calcalist and Psagot advertises “ALL THE BIG NAMES” with photos of these big names — and they include 16 men and only one woman.
Have the planners no shame whatsoever? Is there not one person in either of these organizations who can look at this and see something is wrong?
So all those who talk about how Shari Arinson and Galia Maor “prove” that women have made it in the Israeli economy alongside men (neither of whom is part of this conference, by the way), I say, “Yeah, right.”
How can it be that when all the leading economic figures get together to discuss Israel’s economic future, there is only ONE WOMAN deemed worthy of inviting? And that this passes for normal?
When we think about the status of women in Israel, when we think about all the ways in which women remain in secondary, servile positions at work and at home, the assumed child-carers, the assumed lower-salaried workers, the ones least likely to advance and most likely to feel frustrated and stunted, when we think about all these things and wonder where it comes from, we have an answer. It comes from everywhere. The entire society, from top to bottom, still hangs on to ancient ideas about women’s role in society. It is everywhere.
Women’s secondary status is so deeply embedded in the Israeli consciousness that it occurred to nobody in Calcalist, Psagot, or any of the major newspapers that this advertisement — indeed, the entire conference — is problematic. The idea that all the major decision makers, save one, are men, is deemed the norm.
And by the way, imagine what a time this one woman will have. Talk about an old boys’ club. What will her standing be at this conference? I can only wonder.
What a long road we have ahead of us before we achieve equality.
