War Didn’t Stop Them: Israeli Women Entrepreneurs Defy Crisis and Grow
Tsofit Gordon, CEO of Yozmot Atid, said the average monthly income earned by these women is higher than that of many women employed by others
Olga owns a distillery in northern Israel. When the war began on October 7, 2023, her business was just starting to take off. Because it was new, she received little government compensation. Even so, she held on to the dream of keeping the distillery alive.
After residents were allowed to return to the North following months of evacuation, Olga reopened the distillery’s visitor center. But rebuilding was not easy. She could barely restock the shelves because the fruits she used to make her signature liqueurs were no longer available. The orchards had been disrupted, and she had to wait for new crops to grow.
Still, she persevered.
Last week, just as things were finally beginning to improve, another setback hit. Olga had scheduled several missions and international visitor groups to tour the distillery. But the growing threat of war with Iran, followed by the escalation itself, led many of those visitors to cancel their trips.
“It’s just devastating,” said Tsofit Gordon, CEO of Yozmot Atid, whose organization has supported Olga over the past two-and-a-half years. “It’s very, very, very hard.”
Despite the challenges of the past year, women in Israel have continued to succeed during the country’s seven-front war, which now includes two wars with Iran. The 2025 Yozmot Atid report, released for International Women’s Day on Sunday, March 8, presents an optimistic picture for women entrepreneurs.
According to the report, which polled women who received support from the organization, 89% of women reported an increase in income over the past year, and 81% said they continued operating their businesses despite the war.
Gordon said the latter figure is “exceptional” given the vulnerability of small businesses during crises.
Yozmot Atid focuses on self-employed freelancers and female small business owners. Over the past year, it supported about 1,000 women in establishing and developing businesses. Its report reflects war, economic uncertainty, and family pressures in the past year. But it also highlights resilience, stability, and income growth for women running small businesses.
The organization has operated for a decade. Its goal is to help women from social and geographic peripheries establish small businesses, so they can achieve economic and family independence. The group operates nationwide, in dozens of communities. It supports women from all sectors: Jewish, Arab, secular, ultra-Orthodox, new immigrants, Bedouin, Druze, and others. Since its founding, the organization has assisted nearly 6,000 women who have completed its programs.
“We provide the women with training, knowledge, and tools that really can help them open a business or help an existing business either to grow or get them out of crisis,” Gordon told The Media Line. The organization offers both group and one-on-one training programs with business consultants and independent successful women entrepreneurs.
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We provide the women with training, knowledge, and tools that really can help them open a business or help an existing business either to grow or get them out of crisis
The findings also suggest that younger women are more entrepreneurial. Specifically, 13% of entrepreneurs are aged 20 to 29, 34% are aged 30 to 39, 33% are aged 40 to 49, and 20% are aged 50 or older.
The report found that 51% of respondents rely solely on their business for income, earning an average monthly income of approximately NIS 15,000. Another 27% reported their business as their main source of income, with a monthly average of NIS 11,000.
Tsofit Gordon, CEO of Yozmot Atid. (Courtesy)
Gordon said the average monthly income earned by these women is higher than that of many women employed by others. She said the data sends a clear message: when women receive the right support, they can build viable businesses that sustain themselves and their families.
The Yozmot Atid findings were released alongside a separate report from the Israeli Innovation Authority. That report paints a more complex picture for women in Israel’s innovation economy. The number of women in high-tech has grown, but the sector still faces long-standing gender gaps.
According to the Innovation Authority, about 135,000 women were employed in Israel’s high-tech sector in 2025. These women represented around 34% of the high-tech workforce, a percentage that has remained largely unchanged for more than thirty years.
“Israeli high-tech relies on high-quality human capital. If a significant portion of this capital is not fully realized, the growth and innovation potential of the economy is also affected,” said Dror Bin, CEO of the Israel Innovation Authority. “Reducing these gaps is not only a social objective, but a clear economic interest for Israel.”
The report found that disparities extend beyond overall participation and are particularly visible in leadership roles and pay.
For example, women make up only about 16% of development managers and fewer than 11% of startup CEOs, indicating that relatively few women reach the highest levels of decision-making within the industry.
Salary gaps remain significant as well.
On average, women in high-tech earn about NIS 23,000 per month, compared to NIS 33,000 for men. In certain roles, the gap is even wider. In research and development positions, men earn roughly 44% more than women. In headquarters roles, the difference rises to about 48%, and at senior management levels, the disparities are even greater.
“These figures demonstrate that wage gaps do not stem solely from differences in occupational choice, but from a combination of barriers to advancement, representation in management, and access to decision-making centers,” the Authority said in a release.
“As long as women are not integrated into high-tech and its key decision-making centers at significantly higher rates, Israel forfeits a substantial portion of its existing talent, ideas, and innovative capacity. Fully realizing human capital is essential to maintaining the global leadership of Israeli high-tech and strengthening long-term economic growth.”
As long as women are not integrated into high-tech and its key decision-making centers at significantly higher rates, Israel forfeits a substantial portion of its existing talent, ideas, and innovative capacity
Against the backdrop of these challenges, Gordon said that creativity can play an important role in closing some of these gaps, at least in other sectors of the economy.
She pointed to Ola from Beit Jan, who owns a restaurant. When missiles first began falling in the North, customers stopped coming. The restaurant quickly fell into crisis.
Ola’s mentor from Yozmot Atid suggested she begin offering deliveries. At first, Ola was skeptical. She specializes in Druze cuisine, and believed there would be little demand because many people in the area already know how to cook those dishes themselves. Still, she decided to try.
The result was a major success.
You can create all kinds of solutions
“She now finds herself with another engine for her business,” Gordon said, referring to the delivery service. The shift has proven both effective and essential in recent days as missiles once again fall on northern communities from Lebanon.
“You can create all kinds of solutions,” Gordon said.
