High School: Female Students Comprise 36.1% of Examinees in the 5-Unit Computer Science Exam
- Nearly Equal: 48% of Students Taking the 5-Unit Math Matriculation Exam Are Female
Nearly Equal: 48% of Students Taking the 5-Unit Math Matriculation Exam Are FemaleIn the 5-study unit mathematics exam, there was almost complete parity between male and female students throughout most of the period examined (2016–2023). In 2023, the number of female examinees stood at 10,100 (48% of all examinees), compared to 10,900 male examinees. Over the period, the number of male and female examinees rose at a similar rate (62% and 66%, respectively).
- The Ratio of Female Students Taking the 5-Unit Computer Science Matriculation Exam Rose Until 2020 – and Then Stagnated
Since 2016, there has been a significant rise in the number of both male and female students taking the 5-study unit computer science exam. The number of male examinees increased by 46%, from about 5,000 in 2016 to about 7,300 in 2023. The growth in the number of female examinees was greater during this period, at 77% – from 2,300 in 2016 to more than 4,100 in 2023. Despite the marked increase in the total number of female examinees, they currently comprise just 36.1%. While at the start of the period examined there was an increase in the ratio of female examinees from 31.7% in 2016 to 35.5% in 2020, this trend has since stagnated.
Tel Aviv and Central Districts Have the Highest Ratio of Female Computer Science Matriculation Graduates
- Over 60% of all Computer Science Matriculation Graduates in all Districts are Male
Only 5.2% of all 12th-grade female students took and passed the 5-unit computer science matriculation exam in 2023 (the most recent data available). However, there are significant differences in the ratio of female graduates between different districts: the highest ratios are in the Tel Aviv and Central Districts, where 7.6% and 7.4%, respectively, of all the female students passed the 5-unit exam in 2023 – over 900 female students in the Tel Aviv District and about 1,000 in the Central District.
The lowest ratios of female graduates are in the Jerusalem and Southern Districts, where 2.5% and 3.7% of the female students, respectively, passed the exam. In other words, the ratio of female students passing the 5-unit computer science matriculation exam in Tel Aviv and the Central District is three times higher than that in Jerusalem, twice as high as in the South, and about 50% higher than in the North and in Haifa.
Nevertheless, even in districts that have a relatively higher ratio of female students passing the exam, most of the 5-unit computer science matriculation graduates are male students. In the Northern and Southern Districts, the ratio of female students is higher than the national average and is approaching 40% of all 5-unit computer science graduates.
Tel Aviv and Central Districts Have the Highest Ratio of Female Computer Science Matriculation Graduates
- In most districts, the number of male and female graduates increased at a similar rate – and therefore the gap is not expected to close
In light of the significant gender gap that exists between the ratio of male and female students passing the 5-unit computer science matriculation exam in each of the districts, an analysis was conducted of this metric’s growth rate. This was done to assess whether the gender disparities in high-school computer science graduates are declining over time.
It is important to note that students’ choice to take the matriculation exam in computer science and other scientific subjects has a central influence on their subsequent career choices. Therefore, it is important to reduce the gender gaps already in high school, in order to subsequently increase gender equality in the high-tech sector and in tech positions in general.
The analysis shows, in most districts, a similar change in the ratio of male and female computer science matriculation graduates over a decade (2013–2023). Nationwide, the increase in the ratio of female students was 44%, whereas for male students it was 38%. In other words, at the current growth rate, the gap is not expected to close in the foreseeable future.
The Tel Aviv District stands out with growth rates higher than the national average, where the growth rate in female computer science graduates was about 50% higher than that of male graduates, (77% versus 50%, respectively). In the Jerusalem District, by contrast, there was a 12% decrease in the ratio of male computer science graduates and a 32% increase in the ratio of female graduates.
Academia: 32% of Students in High-Tech Fields Are Women
- The number of female students in high-tech fields has doubled within a decade. Their ratio of all students is rising—but still stands at only one-third
Over the past decade, and especially since the 2016–2017 academic year, the growth rate of students studying high-tech fields in universities and academic colleges has accelerated.
The growth rate of female students during this period was particularly high: from the 2012–2013 academic year to 2022–2023, the number of female students in high-tech fields doubled, increasing from approximately 8,500 per year to 16,800. The number of male students also grew during this period, but their growth rate was 35% – about one-third of the growth rate of female students.
In fact, the growth rate of female students was higher than that of male students in every year during this period. This indicates an increase in the number of women into high-tech studies.
Despite this rapid growth, female students still make up only 32% of all highereducation students in high-tech fields in the 2022–2023 academic year. This ratio has increased from 24% in 2012–2013. In other words, over the past decade, about one-third of the gender gap in high-tech academic studies has gradually closed.
High-Tech Sector: One-Third of Employees Are Women
- The number of women in high-tech has increased by 66% over a decade-but their ratio of high-tech employees has remained unchanged
The number of employees in the high-tech sector has grown rapidly over the past decade. The number of women employed in the sector increased by 66% between 2014 and 2024 – from approximately 79,000 women to 131,000. The growth rate of men in the sector was lower, standing at 56% over the same period.
However, the ratio of women out of all employees in the sector increased by only one percentage point over this period, reaching 33.5% in 2024 – almost unchanged from the level a decade ago.
Analysis by population sector reveals that non-Ultra-Orthodox Jewish women comprise 93% of female high-tech employees. A further 5.6% are Ultra- Orthodox women while Arab women comprise only 1.4%.
Women Comprise 26.5% of R&D Employees
- Fastest Growth Rate: The Number of Women in R&D Roles Increased by 140% in a Decade
An analysis of the high-tech sector by different job types reveals significant differences in growth rates and the representation of women in each type. The fastest-growing field in high-tech is R&D jobs.1The job types are as defined by the Monitoring Committee of the Perlmutter Committee.
The number of women employed in R&D jobs showed the highest growth – 140% over the past decade. In 2014, approximately 21,800 women were employed in R&D jobs, a figure that rose by about 240% to 52,500 in 2024. However, due to a significant increase in the number of men in R&D jobs – a rise of 100% – the ratio of women in R&D jobs increased only slightly, from 23% in 2014 to 26.5% in 2024.
In product and administrative jobs, the growth rate of women employees over the past decade (65.3% and 25.6%, respectively) was higher than that of men in these jobs (42% and 9.2%, respectively). Women’s representation in these jobs is also increasing slowly.
Nevertheless, the increase in the ratio of R&D jobs in the high-tech sector, combined with the low representation of women in these jobs, makes it difficult to increase women’s overall representation in the industry. In other words, despite the increase in the ratio of women in each type of high-tech job (R&D, product, and administration), their overall representation in the high-tech workforce has remained unchanged for three decades, standing consistently at one-third.
Israeli High-Tech: Life Sciences and Enterprise Software Companies Have the Highest Ratio of Women
An analysis of LinkedIn data on employees in Israeli high-tech companies reveals variations in the ratio of women employed across different sectors. The findings indicate that life sciences (including medical devices, pharma, and digital health), enterprise software, e-commerce, and content lead in the ratio of female employees, a figure standing at nearly 40%. Food and agriculture companies show a similar ratio.
In contrast, the ratio of women in cybersecurity and fintech (28%) and the energy and water sector (27%) is lower. The sector with the lowest ratio of women is communications and semiconductors, where only 21% of employees are women.
