- About one-third of women aged 20–60 who live in Arab localities report that they use public transit.
- Arab women travel by public transit mainly in order to do shopping and other errands, and less to go to work.
- Arab women who are not employed view the lack of public transit as only a marginal barrier to employment.
- Young women who have looked for work in the past two years report transit difficulty as a significant barrier to employment. This subgroup accounts for about 9 percent of the women in the survey sample.
The employment rate among Arab women in Israel is markedly lower than among the rest of the population, and the lack of public transit is proposed in various analyses of the issue as a potential cause. As part of a research study intended to identify barriers to employment in Arab society, Arnon Barak of the Bank of Israel Research Department conducted a survey among Arab women on the issue of public transit and employment.[1] The survey was a follow-on to his study on the matter of “The Effect of Public Transit on Employment in Arab Society” (2020), which found that public transit has just a small effect on employment in the Arab sector. The results of the survey will be published soon as part of the forthcoming “Selected Research and Policy Analysis Notes”.
According to the results of the survey, about one-third of women in the sample say that they use public transit. Young women and women with no access to a private vehicle tend to use public transit at even higher rates. Furthermore, Arab women are not indifferent to additional service. About half of the women who travel on public transit report that the level of service has improved in recent years.
Arab women use public transit first and foremost for shopping and other errands (including medical services), followed by travel to visit friends and relatives, studies, and finally work. Moreover, Arab women who are employed do not often go to work by public transit—the vast majority arrive by private vehicle. Employed women who do not have access to a private vehicle generally go to work with someone who drives them, or travel by public transit.
Just 5 percent of Arab women who do not work outside the home report that the reason for this is that there is no work within a reasonable travel time or that there is a lack of sufficient public transit (Table 1). This finding puts public transit as a less important factor than other reasons for nonemployment, such as caring for children or other relatives. It should be noted that even among women without access to a private vehicle, public transit is a relatively marginal factor in their nonemployment. By contrast, among young women who use public transit, and particularly among those who have looked for work in the past two years, the “lack of work within a reasonable travel time / sufficient transit” is a stronger factor. This subgroup accounts for about 9 percent of all women in the sample.
In conclusion, the results of the survey show that Arab women recognize the improvement in service in recent years, and use public transit for a variety of needs. Despite this, the improvement in public transit in Arab localities has not led to a significant increase in employment, since most Arab women who do not work outside the home have reasons for this other than the lack of public transit. Therefore, it seems that the findings of the survey are in line with the results in Barak (2020), and reinforce the conclusion that the improvement in public transit mainly helped the employment of those women who overcame the other structural and cultural barriers to employment among Arab women. Alongside this, it is important to emphasize that the improvement in public transit did contribute to the population in Arab localities in other respects, since the residents used it for a variety of needs and lowered travel costs in terms of time and money.
Table 1
Reasons for nonemployment – by selected groups of Arab women (percent)
|
|
All women (20–60) |
Young women (20–29) |
Young women who looked for work in the past 2 years |
|
Care for children or relatives |
43.5 |
12.6 |
9.4 |
|
Health problems |
17.8 |
1.8 |
0.0 |
|
Currently in studies / training |
14.9 |
48.6 |
46.9 |
|
Insufficient experience / training |
10.2 |
7.2 |
12.5 |
|
No appropriate work |
6.3 |
8.1 |
12.5 |
|
Other reason |
6.3 |
7.2 |
3.1 |
|
No work within a reasonable travel time / sufficient transit |
4.7 |
9.9 |
21.9 |
|
Language difficulties |
3.1 |
5.4 |
3.1 |
|
It’s not acceptable in the family |
3.1 |
3.6 |
0.0 |
|
Number of observations (absolute value) |
382 |
111 |
32 |
|
Share of sample population |
100.0 |
31.9 |
9.2 |
The table shows the responses to the question: What are the main reasons for the fact that you are not currently working? The totals do not add up to 100 percent since it was possible to provide more than one answer to the question.
Table 2
The rate of those responding “No work within a reasonable travel time / sufficient transit” among selected subgroups of Arab women (percent)
|
|
Percentage of respondents for whom this is the main barrier |
Number of observations |
|
All women (who are not employed) |
4.7 |
382 |
|
Of which: Older (30–60) |
2.6 |
271 |
|
Younger (20–29) |
9.9 |
111 |
|
Of which: With no access to a private vehicle |
13.7 |
73 |
|
Secondary/post-secondary (nonacademic) education |
12.2 |
74 |
|
Not religious |
12.5 |
64 |
|
Use public transit |
15.6 |
64 |
|
Looked for work in the past two years |
21.9 |
32 |
[1] The survey was conducted through the Afkar Institute, headed by Dr. Hisham Jubran, in two waves in August and September 2019, and collected 621 observations of working-age women (20–60) who live in Arab localities.