Printer-friendly VersionWAC and Emek Yezreel College Joint Conference:
“Women, Work and Family” – Arab Women and Employment
by 
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Seventy-five female agricultural workers organized by the Workers Advice Center (WAC) and about 30 academics and students from the Max Stern Academic College of Emek Yezreel crowded the lecture hall on 6 November to discuss the subject of “Women, Work and Family.” The conference, a joint initiative of the college and WAC, was preceded by months of preparatory teamwork. It represents a significant step forward in the relationship between the two organizations which have already been cooperating for a few years.
Prof. Victor Friedman, the life and soul of the conference from the college’s sociology and anthropology department, chaired the conference and surprised many of those present when he addressed the Arab women in Arabic. Michal Schwartz, the coordinator of women’s empowerment at WAC, explained that the conference had three main objectives: (1) to raise awareness within academia regarding the exclusion of Arab women from the labor market, (2) to pressure the government in changing policy direction, and (3) to influence Arab society to face the need for women to work and to encourage them to do so.
Amal Bishara, the northern regional coordinator for the "Yachdav" program (Together), spoke of the changes taking place within Arab families in Israel. WAC’s Asma Agbarieh-Zahalkah spoke out against the “revolving door” policy by which migrant workers are cruelly deported on one hand, while on the other thousands of others are imported to take their place. She noted that although Arab women are the main victims of this policy, their plight is not on the public agenda or the political agenda of the government or the Arab political parties.
Dr. Zion Barnetz, from the human services department, talked about “Exclusion, Discrimination and Racism.” Arab women, he said, are victims twice over – as members of the national minority and as members of an oppressed gender. Dr. Dalit Yassur Borochovitz, head of the human services department, spoke of “The Multiple Roles of Working Women.” She noted the common ground between herself and the Arab women attending the conference: all are working women, despite their social and national differences. Prof. Helena de Silvillia, head of the sociology and anthropology department, noted the different ways in which men and women cope with the conflicting pressures of work and family.
Afterwards, the participants split into five smaller discussion groups to talk about how working women cope with various family and social pressures. To finish, participants gathered together again and a woman from each group presented the conclusions that her group had drawn from the discussion.
Many mentioned the “inferior” status of women who chose to work in agriculture compared with those who worked in “clean” jobs. The final gathering clearly expressed the strength of those women who despite the difficulties – from within the home and from society – showed their perseverance in struggling for their right to work.
A more detailed article will be published shortly.
