“Women in Men’s Job”

Images of Israeli women taking on traditionally male work.

Israel is an intense landscape, with a dynamic population and a charged history characterized by strength, commitment, and a universal incentive to live hard. The country's youth both boys and girls give a great part of their young lives to the army. Women here look and feel a bit tougher, a bit sharper. Their femininity is dazzling in their military uniforms, yet they show strength and self-assuredness their counterparts in other countries do not often possess so young.

This project that was created in Israel in 2009. aims to explore the themes of confidence and determination, passion and ambition, through the photographs of Israeli women participating in activities typically reserved for men. While interviewing people for this project Deborah Sinai found that these women, whether construction managers, pilots, mechanics, rugby players, are in most part nonchalant about being a women in a man's job, sharing the attitude that they could do what they want, so long as it is prefaced with passion, determination, and of course, courage.

Perhaps the biggest challenge these women face is the reception by their co-workers and clients. How others treat them is extremely varied, offering insight into Israel's social conscience. These women sometimes face gossip and negative comments condemning their break with traditional female roles. Some people praise their female touch and spotless work. Female clients are pleased and grateful at the sight of the non-threatening stranger entering their homes. Others just love the novelty of having their house fixed and painted by a woman wearing boots and Dior sunglasses. On rare occasions they are treated as if nothing is out of the ordinary, praised for their skill as an employee not as a female.

When women choose to enter the fields typically reserved for men perhaps they face more challenges and efforts, but there is a determining factor in any profession that decides who is right for the position: the ability to do a good job!

Deborah Sinai & Gabrielle Parent