At the Employment and Pride conference held earlier this week at the LGBT Center in Tel Aviv, the Histadrut, alongside 23 other companies and organizations, received the 2026 Equality in Employment Index certification from LGBTWORK.
The awarding of certifications and distinctions as part of the Equality in Employment Index concluded the “Employment and Pride” conference, organized by the LGBTWORK association together with the Histadrut, the Gay Student Fellowship, the “Opportunity” Center Tel Aviv, and the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality. The conference effectively opened the city’s Pride Month events. It included an equal-employment job fair at the LGBT Center, as well as sessions, panels, and workshops.
1 in 7 LGBTQ people fears coming out at work
The index, now being held for the fourth year, examines 25 parameters across four key areas: diverse recruitment tailored to the LGBTQ community, equal and written policies guaranteeing rights, a supportive and inclusive organizational culture, and active contribution to the LGBTQ community.
The Histadrut, participating in the index for the first time this year, received the Gold Standard awarded to companies and organizations that serve as role models, with comprehensive policies, programs for advancing LGBTQ employees, and strategic action to promote equality.
Additional certificates of recognition from LGBTWORK were awarded to the leaders of the LGBTQ caucus in the Knesset — MK Naama Lazimi (The Democrats) and MK Yorai Lahav-Hertzanu (Yesh Atid) — as well as Deputy Mayor of Tel Aviv Meital Lehavi.
“I am proud that this year new companies from diverse sectors of the economy joined our index,” said Sherry Yerushalmi, CEO of LGBTWORK. “Many studies show that the more diverse companies are, the more successful they become. The LGBTQ community is associated with innovation and uniqueness, but for that economic and business potential to flourish, people need to feel safe being who they are in their workplace.”
“When 1 in 7 LGBTQ people does not feel safe coming out in their workplace, and 16% of straight employees say they feel uncomfortable working with someone from the LGBTQ community — it shows that there is still a need to fight discrimination: through education, training, workshops, establishing clear inclusive policies in workplaces, and creating LGBTQ employee groups.”
Attorney Irit Forin-Weitzman, Deputy CEO of Human Resources at the Histadrut, said: “The Histadrut has made it its mission to make workplaces more accepting and inclusive for all populations. Not only in high-tech, but also in public institutions, banks, insurance companies, and factories. I see great importance in having an LGBTQ employee group for Histadrut workers, which serves not only LGBTQ employees but also many workers who are parents of LGBTQ children. I believe that such LGBTQ groups should flourish everywhere — not only in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, but also in the periphery.”
“So that no one will have to hide their identity in the workplace”
Maggie Mor, chair of the workers’ committee at Assuta Ramat Hahayal and head of LGBTQ affairs at the Histadrut, thanked Histadrut chairman Arnon Bar-David for establishing the Department for Gender Equality and Social Justice within the Histadrut, as well as department chair Yaya Fink and Histadrut CEO Dudu Bezalel for the support they provide in advancing the issue.
“Our responsibility is to create a safe environment for hundreds of thousands of LGBTQ workers so that no one will have to hide parts of their identity in the workplace. More and more workplaces understand that equality is not only a moral value, but also an organizational responsibility: only a safe environment allows people to truly be themselves. We need to continue working to establish LGBTQ groups in workplaces, hold lectures, meetings, and open discussions on the issue, and also advance equality through collective agreements.”
Nirit Witman, leader of the LGBTQ employee group for workers at the Histadrut, added that although she had always been open in her workplace and displayed a Pride flag and photos of her LGBTQ family on her desk, she had also encountered employees in the past who were afraid to share and speak openly at work.
“For me, that is the purpose of the LGBTQ group — to create this open space for all employees. To convey that it is worthy, right, and possible. An employee who brings their true self to the workplace is more productive, more open, and more creative. This is something that needs to be cultivated. Today, we are also an address for employees whose children have come out of the closet, and I am proud to say that the Histadrut as an organization also joined the public struggle surrounding the surrogacy law.”
Nirit Witman emphasized that within the Department for Social Justice and Gender Equality, a forum of LGBTQ workplace groups is currently operating, accompanied by LGBTWORK. Within this framework, the groups share information and ideas and assist in establishing additional LGBTQ groups in workplaces.
LGBTWORK is an Israeli organization working to promote workplace diversity and equality in the labor market for the LGBTQ community. After about a decade, during which it operated under the name LGBTech and focused mainly on the high-tech sector, it changed its name at the end of 2024 as part of a broader shift to expand its activities to companies and organizations across additional sectors of the economy and to influence equality across the entire labor market.