At Israel's Women-honoring Ceremony, Male Announcer Paid $1,100 More

At the torch-lighting ceremony on the eve of Israeli Independence Day, which was dedicated the achievements of women, the male announcer was paid $1,100 (3,800 shekels) more than his female counterpart, a journalist revealed on Tuesday.

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In response to the report, Culture and Sports Minister Limor Livnat announced she would take action to equalize the announcers' pay.

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“It was brought to my attention a few minutes ago that there is a gap in the contract conditions of the two readers in the torch-lighting ceremony,” Livnat wrote on her Facebook page. “In light of the information about the wage gap, I spoke this evening with Yitzhak Zonenshein, the center’s current acting director, and came to an agreement with him that he will take immediate action to equalize the salary conditions of the two readers,”

Journalist Haim Rivlin obtained the contract between the Culture Ministry’s information center and ceremony announcers Arye Orgad and Shamira Imbar for Monday’s event on Mt. Herzl. He posted it on his Twitter account Tuesday night.

According to the document, Orgad earned $3,140 (10,800 shekels), while Imbar was hired for $2,032 (7,000 shekels). No explanation, such as a difference in skill or experience, is given for the pay gap.

Livnat noted on her Facebook page that the former information center director who signed the announcers' contracts left the position some time ago.