A study that examined 424 startups (private and VC-backed companies) and 70 venture capital (VC) funds that are active in Israel presents captivating data about women in the Israeli startup/tech ecosystem.

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The research reveals that the average percentage of women represented in the companies studied is 33%. However, representation of women changes based on the size of the company. Not surprisingly, larger companies tend to have higher percentages of women employees (36%) than smaller companies do (30.8%), numbers that appear to support the claim that it is harder for smaller companies to ensure a diverse workforce.

Larger companies also have larger operating systems and can put more resources into recruiting efforts, and have a greater need for human resources, legal, finance, and support jobs – positions for which women are frequently hired.

When it comes to actual tech jobs, only 27% are filled by women, with some variance depending on the company's field of specialization. The digital health sector had the most robust female representation, with women comprising 45% of employees or more at over 60% of the companies studied. Women hold at least 35% of leadership roles in digital health companies.

But overall, women hold less than one-quarter (23.4%) of leadership roles (C-level jobs, vice presidents, directors) in startup companies.

The sub-sectors of Israel's startup/technology landscape that employ the fewest women are cybersecurity, automotive, electronics, and telecommunications. The percentage of women employees in these sectors ranges from 27% to 18%.

When it comes to the driving force behind the startup industry, venture capital, only 14.8% of the partners in the 70 VC firms studies are women, and only 9% of investing partners in those companies are women.

The data were collected by the Power in Diversity initiative, a project that partners with over 220 VC funds and startup companies to promote diversity and inclusion. PID was founded by Alan Feld, funding partner at Vintage Investment Partners. Kobi Sambursky, funding partner at Glilot Capital Partners, and Sivan Shamri Dahan, managing partner and co-founder at Qumra Capital, co-chair the initiative.

"The report highlights a point of view about women working in the ecosystem which is both critical and credible. Undoubtedly, the situation is far from satisfactory. Women should fulfill many more of the leading roles in companies and VC," Dahan said.

"There is no reason why the makeup of the human factor in the ecosystem should not represent the number of women in the general population, and, furthermore, the number of qualified women for these roles. Start-ups should focus on recruiting more employees of underrepresented populations and PID is here to help them," she added.

Shahar Silis, managing director at PID, said, "Many companies are unaware of the diversity measures of their employees as well as the representation rate in the various populations.  We hope that showcasing the companies that are doing this successfully by allocating considerable resources to the implementation of diversity programs and focusing on expanding the pool of candidates that are underrepresented in the workforce will serve as an inspiration to organizations that are interested in doing more."

Sambursky said he believed that "2022 will be the Year of Diversity for our startup industry."

According to Sambursky, the Israeli startup ecosystem has seen an "extraordinary" few  years in terms of funding, IPOs, and unicorns, but the sector still has much work to do when it comes to diversity.

"Like startups, VC must also be proactive by employing many more women, Ethiopian Jews, Orthodox Jews, Arabs, individuals with disabilities, and other populations. The first step is full transparency," Sambursky said.

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Kamau Bobb "will no longer be part of our diversity team going forward." tech giant Google announced Wednesday, following reports the head of its diversity statregy team had claimed Jews were insensitive to the suffering of others

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In a statement obtained by the Jewish Journal, Google said: "We unequivocally condemn the past writings by a member of our diversity team that are causing deep offense and pain to members of our Jewish community and our LGBTQ+ community. These writings are unquestionably hurtful. The author acknowledges this and has apologized. He will no longer be part of our diversity team going forward and will focus on his STEM [Science Technology Engineering Math] work.

"This has come at a time where we've seen an alarming increase in antisemitic attacks. Antisemitism is a vile prejudice that has given rise to unfathomable acts. It has no place in society and we stand with our Jewish community in condemning it," the tech company said.

In a 2007 post, reported on by the Washington Free Beacon, Kamau Bobb, at the time a research associate at Georgia Tech, shared his views on how Jewish people should view the conflict in the Middle East.

Slamming Israel's operations in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip as well as in the Second Lebanon War, Bobb asserted Jews have an "insatiable appetite for war" and an "insensitivity to the suffering [of] others."

Bobb slammed the Israeli government, then led by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. He said Jews, arguing Jews should be "tormented" by Israel's actions, according to the Washington Free Beacon report.

"If I were a Jew today, my sensibilities would be tormented. I would find it increasingly difficult to reconcile the long cycles of oppression that Jewish people have endured and the insatiable appetite for vengeful violence that Israel, my homeland, has now acquired.

"If I were a Jew I would be concerned about my insatiable appetite for war and killing in defense of myself," he wrote. "Self-defense is undoubtedly an instinct, but I would be afraid of my increasing insensitivity to the suffering [of] others."

Bobb said that as a Jew, his reflections on the Kristallnacht or "Night of Broken Glass" events in Germany that heralded the Holocaust "would lead me to feel that these are precisely the human sentiments that I as Jew would understand; that I ought to understand and feel compelled to help alleviate.

"It cannot be that the sum total of a history of suffering and slaughter places such a premium on my identity that I would be willing to damn others in defense of it," Bobb wrote.

As a Jew, he said, "I wouldn't understand the notion of collective punishment, cutting off gas, electricity, and water from residents in Gaza because they are attacking Israel who is fighting against them. It would be unconscionable to me to watch Israeli tanks donning the Star of David rumbling through Ramallah, destroying buildings and breaking the glass," the Washington Free Beacon reported.

The report comes on the heels of a demand by a group of Jewish Google employees the tech giant express its solidarity with Palestinians and terminate any contracts with businesses or organizations that "support Israeli violations of Palestinian human rights" including contracts with the IDF.

In May, the Israeli government announced it had signed a deal with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google for a more than $1 billion project to provide cloud services for the country's public sector and military.

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The British Embassy in Israel's entrepreneurship center is teaming up with a cluster of NGOs and tech players to foster Arab-led startups in Israel in a program called MoveUp.

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Partners in the initiative include PresenTense, a non-profit organization that promotes diversity, equity and inclusion in Israel;s entrepreneurial ecosystem, Citi Foundation, the British Embassy, the UK Israel Tech Hub and with Takwin VC, which invests in Arab-led startups.

The new post-accelerator aims to assist in advanced levels of product development and provide the founders with relevant tools, consulting, guidance and networking with their next steps.

A group of 10 to 12 entrepreneurs will participate in an intensive two-month program designed to include 12 virtual group sessions led by local and UK experts in fields ranging from finance to intellectual property and more. Participant will also be connected to potential investors in Israel and the UK.

Khouloud Ayuti and Ariella Rosen, co-CEOs of PresenTense, said that "In these times of growing uncertainty and increasing social gaps between diverse communities in Israel, we are proud to launch MoveUp together with our partners to provide immediate support for Arab entrepreneurs, promoting them to take part in the 'startup nation.'"

British Ambassador to Israel Neil Wigan said, "Promoting values of diversity and inclusion is of great importance for the UK, and we are happy for the opportunity to assist and contribute to the promotion of these values in the Israeli tech ecosystem.

"I believe in the power of technology and entrepreneurship as a catalyst for a diverse and inclusive society and as a tool to address social gaps, and I welcome the collaboration between Embassy and PresenTense on this mission. We look forward to continuing to work together for a diverse future in the Israeli tech sector," Wigan said.

Citi Foundation Israel CCO Neil Corney said,"The unique partnership between Citi and PresenTense concerning shared social values and perceptions leads to fruitful results."

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"Window Stories" is made of 550 windows collected by the late Jerusalem artist Yoram Amir, who died earlier this year. Organizers say the eclectic collection reflects the ethnic and religious pluralism of the city and sends a powerful message.

There are "Muslim windows and Christian windows, and Jewish, and Armenian and they all come together as a beautiful piece, and it's a statement for a better Jerusalem," said the project's manager, Kobi Frig.

The exhibit is part of an annual festival put on by Mekudeshet, a group that sponsors artistic events that focus on Jerusalem's complexities.

Karen Brunwasser, one of the founders of Mekudeshet, said the windows "tell a deeper story about the way we are supposed to treat each other in this city, the fact that this city has room for everyone."

Brunwasser said that Amir was "madly in love with Jerusalem" and for 20 years, collected windows that were thrown out as a result of development projects. He worked on the installation until his death in March.

He said Amir was weary of the fast-paced changes of the city and viewed the windows as a reminder of our "responsibility to the past, particularly in such an ancient city."

The installation, which opened this month, is to run at least through September. It was intentionally placed in the heart of Jerusalem at a small park that is usually empty and overlooked.

"It's a cute little place that is, let's say, underutilized," said Brunwasser.

"One of the ideas was to take a place that actually is beautiful, but kind of off the radar, and through this installation, do some sort of placemaking and attract people to appreciate this really, really quiet and beautiful corner."

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