Assaf Rappaport, head of research and development at Microsoft Israel, recently said that the greatest missed opportunity in Israeli high-tech is the lack of women—they account for less than 20% of the high-tech workforce.
The number of women pursuing higher education and careers outside of the home has increased due to both the women’s rights movement and the higher cost of living—but women still have to contend with great disparity when it comes to opportunity: wage gaps, sexism in employment and hiring practices, differences in titles between men and women in managerial positions, or professions that are perceived as male-oriented.
Our network strives to improve the achievements of each and every student, regardless of gender, and motivates them to attain excellence by identifying their unique abilities and skills. We push them toward self-fulfillment and personal development through a process of dialogue and developing self-esteem.
That is why AMIT offers varied programs for our students and invests great resources in trying to increase the number of students who pursue math, English, science, and technology subjects at the highest bagrut level. Over the years, we have seen a demonstrable increase in participants and scores. At the same time, we also believe that students should pursue what interests them, what they are passionate about, and that is why we cultivate our teachers to become mentors who accompany students throughout their process of personal growth.
With that said, we are all too aware of the phenomenon inherent in Israeli culture that often pushes girls to pursue humanities instead of the sciences. That is why we, at AMIT, not only emphasize that girls are just as capable and excited about science and technology as boys are—we allot resources to boosting girls’ self-esteem when it comes to pursuing these subjects.
Amnon Eldar
AMIT Director General
