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This study explored variations in women’s experiences within the family-work system by different earning patterns: where men outearn women, both spouses earn equally, or women outearn men. This examination was conducted in three major ethnic communities in Israel: Jews in the general population, ultra-Orthodox Jews, and Arabs. The analysis focused on three dimensions of the family-work system: behavioral (perceived family and work time), cognitive (assessment of family-work conflict), and affective (marital satisfaction). In all three communities, women who outearned their spouses tended to dedicate more hours to paid work and less to family and household responsibilities. However, based on women’s perceptions, men allocated the same number of hours to family responsibilities, irrespective of their ethnicity or earning patterns. In the Arab community, women earning the same or more than their spouses experienced heightened work-family conflict compared to those with different earning patterns in their community. Finally, ultra-Orthodox women reported the highest levels of marital satisfaction, regardless of earning pattern. Based on these findings, organizations should be encouraged to implement family-friendly policies to support women, especially in traditional communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The overarching goal of the present study was to examine the contribution of various sources of empowerment to mental health during retirement with an added emphasis on gender differences. The empowerment sources that were examined corresponded with three distinct ecological systems: (1) Chronosystem—resource gains from the pre- to post-retirement period and satisfaction with the prior working period; (2) Microsystem—marital power dynamics (measured by the division of household labor and decision-making in the marital relationship) and the presence of a confidant; (3) Ontogenetic system—a sense of meaning in one's life during the retirement period and an assessment of absolute resources. The research sample consisted of 160 Israeli retirees (78 women and 82 men) who had retired within the previous eight years. Data were collected by the Panels Research Institute in Israel using the institute's database of members. Participants completed an online questionnaire accessible via a website link. Statistical processing was performed using ANOVA and hierarchical regression analysis. The results indicated that retirees' reports of resource gains after retirement, their sense of meaning in life, their satisfaction with their working period prior to retirement, and their perceived level of absolute resources were all associated with mental health. Additionally, the more participants (both men and women) rated that the husband was involved in household labor, the better retirees reported their mental health to be. Gender differences were found in regard to some empowerment sources during retirement: retired women reported lower levels of mental health and prior work satisfaction compared to retired men, and men's assessments of their participation in household labor and decision-making were higher than women's assessments of their husbands' involvement. The proportion of men who reported that their wives were their confidants was higher than the proportion of women who reported that their husbands were their confidants. Overall, men experienced more sources of empowerment than women during retirement, but findings suggest that men's emotional dependence on their wives is greater than women's emotional dependence on their husbands. Based on the study's findings, recommendations are offered to professionals who work with retirees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We explored the relationships between the experience of work-family conflict and levels of distress in the family and at work among a sample of 227 Israeli working mothers. We also examined how role set density (RSD, the number of roles they perform) and personal and environmental resources are related to the women's experience of distress. Work-family conflict resulting from interference of work with family roles (WIF) and from interference of family with work roles (FIW) correlated positively with distress in the family and at work. RSD correlated negatively with distress at work but did not correlate with distress in the family. Perceived social support and personal resources correlated negatively with the women's experience of distress. WIF mediated the relationship between social support and women's experience of distress as well as the relationship between RSD and distress.

The study examined differences in the impact of resources on strategies for coping with work-home conflict (WHC) among Jewish (n = 59) and Muslim Arab (n = 87) women from dual-earner families in Israel. A distinction was made between three main types of coping strategies: taking initiative, help seeking (active strategies), and redefinition (a passive strategy). The explanatory variables were personal resources (hardiness, gender-role ideology, and income advantage) and environmental resources (support from the husband, egalitarian division of labor, and flexibility in the workplace). The research variables correlated mainly with the strategy of help seeking among the Jewish women and with the strategy of redefinition among the Arab women. (Contains 2 tables.)

The study is aimed at examining the relationship between psychological empowerment of women volunteers and their clients in community volunteer projects in Israel. Based on an ecological approach, the study also aimed at examining whether the variables that explain empowerment of women who volunteer also explain empowerment of their clients. The sample included 148 women, who were divided into 74 volunteer-client pairs. Psychological empowerment of volunteers did not correlate significantly with psychological empowerment of clients. However, the volunteer women's motives for volunteering and the quality of the volunteer-client interaction correlated positively with psychological empowerment of the clients. Empowerment of volunteers was explained primarily by social motives, by the quality of interactions with their clients, and by the quality of the volunteer's interaction with the coordinator of volunteer activity. In light of the findings, practical recommendations are offered for empowering women volunteers and their clients in community settings. (Contains 4 tables and 1 figure.)

The present study compared Muslim-Arab women in Israel who initiated divorce (n=45) with those who stayed in stressful marital relationships (n=46). Based on an ecological approach and using a cross-sectional design, we explored the differences between the two groups with regard to the following variables: personal resources (education, paid employment, hardiness, styles of coping with stressful situations, and egalitarian gender role ideology), spousal variables (evaluation of marital difficulties), and environmental resources (formal and informal support from the environment). The findings revealed that levels of education and rates of participation in the labor force were higher among the divorced women than among those who stayed in stressful marriages. In addition, the divorced women had a more egalitarian gender role ideology and tended to adopt problem-focused styles for coping with stressful situations, whereas the married women tended to combine emotion-focused and problem-focused styles. The main difficulty experienced by the divorced women was the husbands' violence, whereas the married women primarily experienced difficulties related to the husbands' alcoholism or drug addiction. In light of the findings, practical recommendations are presented. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.)

This study examines whether gender and employment status affect burnout, motives for volunteering, and difficulties associated with volunteer activity in social and community services in Israel. The sample included 375 men and women aged 16 through 80. Participants were divided into four groups by employment status: high school students, employed persons, retirees, and unemployed persons. The findings revealed that employment status had a more significant impact on the research variables than did gender. Burnout correlated positively with difficulty in relations with beneficiaries among men, and with difficulty in relations with the provider organization among women. Female students and unemployed men were found to be particularly vulnerable to burnout. (Contains 7 tables and 1 figure.)

The main goal of the study was to examine the contribution of the family–work conflict to explaining spousal aggression from a comparative perspective: pre-COVID days versus the peri-COVID-19 pandemic period. The dimensions of aggression included spousal undermining and violent tactics for spousal conflict management as reflected in physical and verbal-emotional violence tactics. The family–work conflict construct included two factors: family interferes with work conflict and work interferes with family conflict. The sample was comprised of 747 Israeli Jewish mothers and fathers of children in early and middle childhood (384 in pre-pandemic days and 363 in the peri-pandemic period). Data were collected via an online link and were analyzed using path analysis. The intensity of work interferes with family conflict, the level of spousal undermining and the use of physical violence tactics were higher during the peri-pandemic period than in pre-pandemic days. The general measure of family work conflict was related to spousal undermining in both periods. Spousal undermining mediates the relation between family–work conflict and violent spousal conflict management tactics in both periods. A highly intensive family–work conflict experience in routine times and in times of crisis, such as a pandemic, may comprise a warning sign that may lead to expressions of spousal aggression In light of the findings, practical recommendations are proposed for reducing spousal aggression stemming from processes in the work–family interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study deals with birth order and its impact on intergenerational transmission of parental attitudes to adolescent sons in Israeli society. The sample included 294 participants (including 98 mothers, 98 fathers, and 98 sons). The attitudes chosen were key issues of concern in Israeli society: gender role attitudes, ethnic stereotypes, and attitudes toward immigrants from the former USSR (disposition toward contact and empathy toward immigrants). The findings indicate that birth order impacts on intergenerational transmission of attitudes from parents to adolescents, although the nature of this impact is different for mothers and fathers. The correlation between fathers' attitudes and those of their sons were strongest for the firstborn, and decreased according to birth order. The reverse trend was found for mothers. In addition, firstborns expressed greater willingness to approach immigrants than did middle and younger children. Regarding gender role attitudes and ethnic stereotypes, no impact was found for birth order. Compared with other family members, mothers expressed the most liberal gender role attitudes, and children expressed the least stereotyped attitudes toward ethnic groups, especially compared with their fathers.

Examined whether transmission of gender role ideology is more prevalent among parents and children of the same sex than among parents and children of the opposite sex. Findings from a sample of 134 Israeli adolescents and their parents show that intergenerational transmission of gender role ideology is a highly complex process. (SLD)

In a study of 225 Israeli young adults applying for their first job, women were more likely to reject jobs due to work conditions, family considerations, or masculine sex-typing. Men rejected jobs only because of feminine sex-typing. Women had greater nonfinancial commitment to work. Men were more stigmatized by unemployment. There were no differences in job search intensity. (Contains 56 references.) (SK)

Studies marital relations of 469 Israeli couples, in late adulthood, categorized as synchronous (either both pre-retired or both retired) and asynchronous (one spouse working and one retired). Examines differences between the groups for division of household tasks, power relations, and quality of marriage. Martial power relations were generally egalitarian in all groups although differences were noted for other factors. (JDM)

A study of job search intensity among 451 unemployed women in Israel found that the youngest (below 22) spent the most time seeking employment; young (age 22-35) and midlife (age 36-49) women rejected job offers more frequently. The oldest group (50-62) were least likely to reject offers and experienced more health problems following unemployment. (JOW)

Examines the relationship between gendered personality dispositions and two aspects of gender role attitudes (occupational sex typing and gender role stereotypes). Indicates that gendered personality disposition affects occupational sex typing, whereas gender has the strongest effect on stereotypes of gender roles in the family and society. Discusses the findings. (CMK)

In Israel 194 junior high, 183 high school, and 89 college students and 148 elementary-secondary teachers evaluated the femininity-masculinity of 27 occupations, using either vague instructions or on the basis of gender-related capabilities. The gender-related condition resulted in less sex-typing. College students and females expressed less sex-typed perceptions in both conditions. (SK)

Examines the impact of occupational prestige on sex-typing of occupations in Israel based on gender and age group (366 adolescents, 532 university students, and 148 teachers). Overall, university students had the most liberal attitudes and young adolescents, the least. Suggestions are given for reducing stereotyping among adolescents. (SLD)

Rating of the femininity/masculinity of 27 occupations was undertaken by four age groups in the Israeli education system: 14-year-olds (n=194); 17-year-olds (n=183); university students (n=89); and teachers (n=148). Results indicated that sex-related stereotypes of occupations continue to be maintained among youth and adults. (JOW)