The Glass Ceiling Remains For Women in Israeli Politics

Israel is usually described as a Western democracy. It is true in most areas, especially when the country is compared to its neighbors and the Middle East in general. Israeli democracy is vibrant and alive. It has a free press (even if it happens to be subject to attacks by the prime minister) and lively individual and human rights organizations. The political arena is in a state of constant turmoil, with parties rising and disintegrating. In fact, the Israeli electorate often surprises itself. Any time you have three Jews, you will always have four opinions at least. It’s a well-known phenomenon, so it should come as no surprise that this happens in Israeli politics too. All in all, what we have is a real celebration of democracy.

But there are also many areas where Israel cannot pride itself on having obtained such positives stats. The representation of women in positions of power is one area, where Israel’s democracy still lags noticeably behind the other democracies of the West. The nineteenth Knesset, voted in last January, has a record number of women. About a quarter of this new Knesset’s members are women, but that still represents only half of their proportion in the total population, less than the standard in the West. Furthermore, women are conspicuously absent from many other important fields. Few women serve in top administrative positions in Israel. The number of women serving on the boards of directors, as CEOs, or in senior positions in banking, industry, and other important sectors is significantly lower than the accepted norm. Israeli women are bold and assertive, talented and tenacious, but they still have a long way to go to achieve full equality, or even something resembling equality, in any position where they might have influence, authority, and power over men.