Dafna N. Izraeli

The relationship between gender and performance issues of concern to directors: correlates or institution?

Summary This paper focuses on the influence of gender on performance issues which concern directors of publicly traded corporations in Israel. Two theoretical perspectives for the explanation of gender diAerences in occupations were examined. The first views gender as an individual-level property that is correlated with occupational and job variables and the behavioral diAerences between men and women as the result of these correlates. According to this perspective, when the correlates of gender are controlled, these diAerences disappear. The second perspective treats gender not only as a property that individuals bring with them to the workplace, but also as an institutionalized characteristic of theworkplace, of occupations, and of occupational environments, as embedded in formally defined rules, roles and responsibilities. Consequently, gender influences are not easily eliminated. The dependent variable was the extent to which men and women diAer in their concerns regarding their roles as directors. The independent variables included human, social capital and organizational context variables, and gender. Data were collected by means of questionnaires from a representative sample of directors (98 women and 127 men). The findings lend partial support for a view of gender as a social institution and directors as a gendered occupation. Copyright #1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The perception of women's status in Israel as a social problem

This study examines the perception of the status of women in Israel as a social problem, its cognitive structure and its correlates. The 994 respondents included a sample of university students, nurses, and female army officers. In general, the results suggest that feminist issues are perceived as less severe than most other social problems and that men perceive feminist issues as significantly less severe than do women. Factor analyses indicate that men and women think about social problems differently and that women have a broader more integrated conception of sex inequality. Sex, religiosity, education, and occupational context were all found to be significant predictors of perceptions of womens issues as social problems.

The Attitudinal Effects of Gender Mix in Union Committees

This study examines the impact of the gender mix of union committees in Israel on the attitudes and perceptions of committee members. The author finds that both male and female members of committees with a male majority were more likely than members of committees with a female majority to believe that men have greater leadership skills than women and that women are elected primarily to represent women rather than all workers. Also, in neither type of committee were men perceived to represent only men or did women rate their influence equal to that of men.

THE POLITICAL CONTEXT OF FEMINIST ATTITUDES IN ISRAEL

The purpose of the present study was to identify the sources of social support for feminist issues in Israel. Attitudes toward these issues as social problems and toward feminism as a social movement were examined through a questionnaire administered to 2,097 university students studying in the Tel Aviv area in 1985-1986. The study found that Israeli students who considered gender discrimination in promotion and prohibitions against abortion severe social problems were more likely to be on the political left, nonreligious or secular, and generally tolerant of difference and open to change. Support for the perception of violence against women as a social problem was stronger than for the other two issues and cut across the dominant cleavages in Israeli society. Students do not connect violence against women with gender inequality. These findings and their significance for the development of feminism in Israel are discussed within the framework of Gamson and Modiglianis (1987) analysis of the culture of policy issues.

When do spouses support a career? A human capital analysis of Israeli managers and their spouses

Abstract This study examines the factors that contribute to a managers receiving spousal support for his/her career. Two theoretical approaches-human capital and cultural norms—generate hypotheses tested on a sample of 869 men and women managers in Israel. Results of linear and logit regressions, run separately by gender, with education, earnings, age, children, religiosity, and ethnic origin as independent variables, revealed that spousal support is better explained for women than for men, and that husbands help more when it is most productive to do so. Cultural norms also contribute to explaining spousal support.