Israeli parties unconcerned with equal gender representation
Few, if any, Israeli parties are expected to present for the upcoming Nov. 1 elections Knesset lists with equal representation of women.
When the primary votes were counted last month and the Likud list of candidates was set, the blow sustained by women in Israel’s largest party became obvious to everyone. Only five women appeared in realistic slots (i.e., the first 32 seats, according to polls). What this means is that just over 16% of the list consists of women.
No less disturbing is the fact that only one woman appears in the party’s top 10 slots. This is the worst the situation has been since the 2015 election when only six women served in the Knesset for the Likud.
This is the party’s Achilles’ heel in the current election campaign. Both of its opponents — Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party and Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s National Unity party — immediately launched online campaigns in which they boast about the relatively high number of women in their parties, especially as compared to the Likud.
That being said, even here, the word “relatively” is important. It underscores the fact that even in these parties, the representation of women is hardly optimal.
