Women's Representation in Local Government

Mor Elkaslasi & Oded Steklov

Efforts for equal representation for women have been gaining ground in recent years in several substantial fields including business, national politics and law. However, in some fields it seems the "glass ceiling" for women's advancement still exists.

Even though in Israel several population groups suffer from discrimination, gender is still the foremost factor differentiating between population groups and hence the importance in acting to prevent discrimination against women.

The most significant market failure in this regard is an economic one rather than a moral one, since women's exclusion from senior roles in organizations hurts their performance. For example, research has found that the yield on capital in companies where women's representation was higher was significantly greater[1]. This finding serves as an economic justification for actions to stop discrimination, on top of social and moral ones.

The underrepresentation of women is not unique to Israel and is not limited to local government. In some respects Israel fares better then the OECD average in this regard. The average share of women in publically traded companies' board of directors in OECD countries is 10%, while in Israel it is 18%. However, the share of women in the Israeli parliament is 22.5% (2014) compared to the OECD average of 25%.

When examining female representation in local government, Israel fares much worse: only 13% of municipal council members are women compared to the world average of 28%. To address this issue some countries have enacted mandatory women quota systems, both in the candidate lists for councils and in the council itself. This method has been found to be successful in increasing female representation, for example in Finland, Norway and Italy. However, the success of the quota system depends on the public and political state of mind and in the existence of public legitimacy for this measure. Steps to ensure the implementation of quotas are also necessary, for example financial incentives and positions that are accommodating to the needs of mothers.

[1] Desvaux, G., Devillard S., & Sancier-Sultan S., (2010). "Women at the top of corporations: Making it happen." McKinsey & Company.

There are three main categories of senior roles in local government in Israel (beyond the head of the municipality): board members on municipal corporations, members of the city (municipal) council, and holders of high-evel appointed positions in the municipal government itself.

A statistical analysis of a representative sampling of municipalities in Israel reveals that even in cases where women are appointed as directors on the boards of municipal corporations, or to senior positions in city hall management, they are often relegated to roles in more "social" fields such as education and welfare. However, in more business oriented roles, such as city manager or city treasurer, women's representation is much lower.
Interestingly, when a municipality is larger than 100,000, on average the female representation in the city council is greater. Moreover, in more financially robust local authorities and in those closer to the center of Israel there a consistent and significant higher rate of female representation in local councils and among top official city positions.

Data also reinforces the assumption that women in the non-Jewish sector and in the ultra orthodox Jewish sector are discriminated against compared to men. In these local authorities, which usually rank on the lower end of the socio-economic scale, the number of women appointed to senior positions is close to zero.

In 2016 the Ministry of Interior decided upon the formation of a public commission on women's status in municipalities – for further reading click here.

Women's Representation in Local Government

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