Most Ultra-Orthodox Female High-Tech Job Seekers Specialize in Software Development
A study by the Israel Employment Service shows 69.4% of ultra-Orthodox female high-tech job seekers specialize in software development. While participation grows, experts stress the need for long-term career stability.
A new study by the Israel Employment Service reveals that 69.4% of ultra-Orthodox female job seekers registered in the high-tech sector in August 2026 specialized in software development or application analysis. This represents 372 out of 536 ultra-Orthodox women seeking employment in high-tech fields, a significantly higher proportion than non-ultra-Orthodox Jewish women at 47.3% and Arab women at 39.3%.
Geographically, 44% of these ultra-Orthodox job seekers are concentrated in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria, while 41.2% are located in Tel Aviv and the central region. In August 2026, 536 ultra-Orthodox women were registered in high-tech professions, compared to 505 in August 2025. However, their share among all registered high-tech job seekers remained almost unchanged at 3.1% in both years.
The Employment Service highlights a shift in the employment challenge. After years where the primary focus was increasing the rate of ultra-Orthodox women entering the workforce, current data raises a new question: how to ensure this integration translates into a stable, developing career capable of withstanding rapid market changes.
High Concentration in Software Professions
The data shows a significant concentration of ultra-Orthodox job seekers in software professions, with their share rising from 59.6% in August 2023 to 69.4% in August 2026. Additionally, 12.3% work in architecture, planning, and design, meaning roughly 82% are concentrated in two main professional groups.
The number of job seekers has also grown. Between January and February 2026, an average of 444 ultra-Orthodox women registered for high-tech roles, compared to 394 in the same period in 2025, marking a 12.6% increase. By comparison, general female job seekers saw a 9.7% rise during the same timeframe.
While the Employment Service notes that job seeker data alone cannot directly attribute this rise to artificial intelligence, the rapid transformation of technological roles emphasizes the critical importance of professional guidance and skills adaptation.
Fewer Academic Degrees, More Certifications
The training profile of ultra-Orthodox female job seekers has also evolved. Sixty-four percent hold a practical engineer, technician, or professional certificate, with 29.9% being practical engineers and technicians and 34.1% holding professional certifications. Consequently, the share of those with vocational-technological training rose from 41% in 2019 to 64% in 2026. In contrast, the share of those holding academic degrees stood at 21.5%, compared to 63.1% among non-ultra-Orthodox Jewish women.
"The data presents a moderate upward trend, but it requires our attention. The impacts of artificial intelligence on high-tech in general and software professions in particular could be significant for ultra-Orthodox women, given the high concentration of software developers in this sector," said Employment Service CEO Inbal Meshash. "Our role is not only to help them find their next job, but to thoughtfully plan their next career step according to their skills and future market realities."
Narrowing Employment Gaps
These findings arrive amid a broader rise in employment rates among ultra-Orthodox women. Among women aged 25–66, the employment rate climbed from 66% in the first quarter of 2014 to 80.8% in the second quarter of 2026, while labor force participation rose from 72% to 82.8%. Consequently, the employment gap between ultra-Orthodox women and non-ultra-Orthodox Jewish women has narrowed to approximately 3 percentage points, at 80.8% versus 83.7%.
