Ultra-Orthodox women in the job market: What aid them to become healthy and satisfied?

INTRODUCTION: Culture and ethnicity are crucial to our identity and responsible for our health, values and thereby to our satisfaction from work. OBJECTIVES: To this end, this study focused on the minority groups of ultra-orthodox women in their work sphere and examined differences between women who work within the enclave, women who work both with ultra-Orthodox and other sectors of the Israel society and women who work mainly outside the ultra-Orthodox enclave on the different study variables. Moreover, a model which include main resources [family, community, diversity climate perceptions (in the job environment) and inclusive leadership] as potential explanatory factors of employees’ satisfaction from work and mental health. METHODS: Data were gathered from 304 ultra-Orthodox women who belong to various streams in this society, who were recruited by the Midgam research panel. The participants filled out self-reported questionnaires among which family quality of life, community sense of coherence, diversity climate, inclusive leadership, job satisfaction and mental health. The participants’ age ranged between 19-64 years (M=30.86 SD=8.71). RESULTS: The explanation of the full model for jobs satisfaction was: 46% of the variance among women within the enclave, 60% among women who work in mixed environment, and 53% among women who work outside the enclave. As for mental health: 22% of the variance among women within the enclave, 17% among women in mixed environment, and 41% among women outside the enclave. CONCLUSIONS: The results are analyzed through the lens of Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory and show that in traditional societies such as the ultra-Orthodox one, the most important factors for job satisfaction and mental health are family and communal resources. DISCLOSURE OF INTEREST: None Declared