Equal Representation for Women in Local Government—The Situation in Israel and in A

Research and Information Center

EQUAL REPRESENTATION FOR WOMEN IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT—THE SITUATION IN ISRAEL AND IN A

COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE

The Knesset Research and Information Center Kiryat Ben-Gurion, Jerusalem, 91950 Written by: Rinat Benita and Shelly Mizrahi T e l : 0 2 - 6 4 0 8 2 4 0 / 1 Simon F a x : 0 2 - 6 4 9 6 1 0 3 www.knesset.gov.il/mmm 18 Adar 5778 5 March 2018 Approved by: Orly Almagor Lotan , Team Leader

This document was written at the request of MK Aida Touma-Sliman, chair of the Committee on the Status of Women and Gender Equality, and it addresses the representation of women in local government in Israel and in other countries. The first section of the document focuses on the involvement of women in municipal politics in Israel and contains relevant data on women who ran and were elected in the most recent local elections in Israel, which took place in 2013. The second section presents various tools for raising the rate of representation of women in local government that are practiced in Israel and abroad. The third section of the document presents a comparative perspective regarding the rate of female representation in municipal councils in various countries.

We emphasize that for the purpose of distinguishing precisely between various types of entities in local politics, we used the term "local authorities"1 in the chapter dealing with Israel, while employing the term "municipal councils"—in accordance with the term customarily used around the world in writing on this subject—in the comparative discussion.

The following findings emerge from the document: - Increasing the rate of women's membership in municipal councils is an issue that is on the agenda of various international bodies and that has been validated in numerous resolutions—both within broader resolutions on the promotion of women in decision- making positions and specific statements on the promotion of women in local government. - In Israel, the average rate of women among the total number of council members in local authorities is approximately 13.5%. This rate is substantially lower than the rate of women among the general population and is even low compared to the percentage of women in the national government—28% (34 female Members of Knesset) at the time of writing. - Of all the local councils and cities in Israel—201 in total— at the time of writing, only four (Netanya, Yahud-Monosson, Or Yehuda, and Ganei Tikva) are headed by women. Thus, the percentage of women among heads of authorities is approximately just two percent.

1 In this document, a "local authority" is a town or local council, to the exclusion of regional councils, in accordance with the definition of the term set forth in the Local Authorities (Elections) Law, 5725-1965. Because the elections for membership on a regional council are conducted by a different method, which stems from the two-tiered structure that characterizes these authorities, data on regional councils are not included in this document.

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- According to data received by the Knesset Research and Information Center (hereinafter: RIC) from the Ministry of the Interior, in the 2013 municipal elections 17,673 men and women ran for office to head an authority or gain a seat on a council— approximately 20% were women (3,557 candidates) and the rest were men (14,116 candidates). - Of the 3,557 women who ran for office to head an authority or gain a seat on a council, 327 were elected (324 women as members of councils, and another three women as heads of an authority). Thus, only 9% of the female candidates for seats on local authority councils were elected. For the sake of comparison, 2,093 (14.8%) of the 14,116 men who ran for office were elected. - The data show a correlation between the socio-economic ranking of authorities' residents and the percentage of women serving on their council. While in authorities ranked in clusters 1–4, women compose less than 3% of the council members, the average rate is 16% in authorities ranked 5, some 24% in authorities rated 6–7, and the average in wealthy authorities (clusters 8–10) is approximately one- third of the total number of council members. - At the same time, women ran for head of the local authority in more than a third of the authorities ranked in the highest socio-economic clusters (8 and 9). In contrast, in all the authorities ranked in the low clusters [including many authorities that are Arab or haredi (Jewish ultra-Orthodox)] only in two—Mitzpe Ramon and Nazareth—did a woman run for head of the authority. - An especially notable under-representation of women exists in the Arab and haredi authorities, in which only some 4% of the total number of candidates for the authority council (in both Arab and haredi authorities) were women. The city of Nazareth is the only Arab local authority in which a woman ran for the leadership of the authority. In the haredi authorities, not a single woman was elected as a council member, while in all the Arab authorities, six women were elected (less than 1% of the total number of council members). - According to data from the Forum of Deputy and Acting Heads of Councils in Israel (which is under the Federation of Local Authorities in Israel), some 12% of the deputy heads of authorities were women, similar to the rate among council members. - Countries employ various tools to raise the rate of women's representation in the political system. Some tools are statutory, formally regularized, and implemented at the national level, and some are voluntary initiatives by organizations or parties. Some

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of the tools (especially quotas) attempt to contend with the existing structural arrangements, while others (e.g., education and information) are meant to change the prevalent social and cultural arrangements. - Gender quotas are one of the main tools for increasing the percentage of women in the political system, on both the national and municipal levels. A quota may be set by statutory means, with the state obliging the parties to maintain a certain rate of representation for each of the genders, or mandating that a certain percentage of the seats in the institution for which the elections are held be reserved for women. A quota may also be instituted on a voluntary basis by the political parties. Ensuring that a sufficient number of women are elected requires more than determining a numerical quota; the quota must relate to giving women a place on the party's slate of candidates that gives them a realistic chance of being elected and include sanctions for breach of the quota requirement (as is indeed done in most of the cases). - Data from the various countries surveyed indicate that women still comprise a minority of the members of municipal councils and of the heads of local authorities. In all the states reviewed in this document—with the exception of Iceland and Sweden—the rate of women in municipal councils is below 40%. In 60% of the countries reviewed, the rate of women is lower than even 30%. In addition, in all the countries reviewed in this document, with the exception of Sweden, women make up less than 30% of the heads of municipal councils; in some 75% of the states reviewed, this rate is lower than even 20%. - In Israel, there are no statutory quotas for the equal representation of women on either the national or municipal levels. Nevertheless, in 2014 the Knesset adopted Amendment No. 12 to the Local Authorities (Election Financing) Law, which was designed to raise the rate of representation of women in local politics by creating a financial incentive for placing women in places on parties' lists that give the candidates a realistic chance at election. The amendment stipulates that political groups in the local authorities whose slate of candidates is at least one-third women shall receive larger election financing. According to the amendment, such a group shall receive an additional 15% of the sum of election financing to which it is entitled by law. This provision will apply as of the next local authority elections, in October 2018; after that point, it will be possible to examine its effects on the rate of women representatives in municipal politics.

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1. Background: Women's participation in politics

In recent decades, there has been a rise in the percentage of women holding decision-making positions, including in national and local politics. Thus, for example, in December 2017, an average of 23.6% of the members of the lower house of parliaments around the world were women, as compared to an average of 12% in January 1997.2

The following table presents data from the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) regarding the representation rates of women in the lower houses of parliaments around the world in January 1997 and December 2017, divided by regional group.

Table 1: Percentage of women in the lower house of parliaments around the world in January 1997 and December 2017, by regional group3

Regional group Jan. 1997 Dec. 2017

Members of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe 27.3% 13.8%

Americas 28.6% 12.9%

Asia (excluding Arab states) 19.7% 13.4%

Sub-Saharan Africa 23.7% 10.1%

Pacific 15.5% 9.8%

Arab states 18.3% 3.3%

Global average 23.6% 12%

2 IPU, "Women in National Parliaments," Situation as of 1 January 1997, http://archive.ipu.org/wmn- e/arc/world010197.htm; idem, Situation as of 1st December 2017, http://archive.ipu.org/wmn- e/arc/classif011217.htm. 3 IPU, "Women in National Parliaments," Situation as of 1 January 1997, http://archive.ipu.org/wmn- e/arc/world010197.htm; idem, Situation as of 1st December 2017, http://archive.ipu.org/wmn- e/arc/classif011217.htm.

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Despite the increased percentage of women in parliaments, the data indicate that women are still under-represented in political decision-making positions and are a minority of those who head of a political party or hold senior government positions.4

The under-representation of women also applies to local politics; in some countries, the disparities in the percentage of men and women are even greater in local political bodies.5 Thus, for example, in 2017, an average of 32.1% of the members of municipal councils in EU member countries were women, and an average of 14.9% of these countries' municipal councils were headed by women.6 It is important to point out that in contrast to the data regarding the percentage of women in national politics (i.e., national parliaments), which are collected and publicized on a regular basis, the data regarding the representation of women in local politics are not available to the same extent and with the same level of credibility.

Various factors lead to the under-representation of women in the political system. The OECD report prepared in advance of the Conference on Improving Women's Access to Leadership identified several barriers that women face in the political arena:7 cultural barriers—the perception that political roles and leadership ability require traits that are culturally identified with men; structural barriers—these barriers usually include lack of work-life balance, limited flexible working arrangements, and the lack of support and contacts; self-imposed barriers such as a lack of confidence, which are usually rooted in stereotypes related to gender and the role of women; a shortage of mechanisms that encourage gender equality and of relevant data that are segmented by gender. A 2013 survey conducted by the IPU among male and female MPs examined the barriers they identify to developing a political career. As regards the barriers faced by women, the survey

4 United Nations, "The World's Women 2015," Chapter 5—Power and Decision-making; (https://unstats.un.org/unsd/gender/downloads/WorldsWomen2015_chapter5_t.pdf); OECD, Conference on Improving Women's Access to Leadership—Background Report 8 March 2016. (http://www.oecd.org/daf/ca/OECD-Women-Leadership-2016-Report.pdf 5 United Nations, "The World's Women 2015," Chapter 5—Power and Decision-making; (https://unstats.un.org/unsd/gender/downloads/WorldsWomen2015_chapter5_t.pdf). 6 EIGE (European Institute for Gender Equality), Gender Statistics Database, Women and Men in Decision Making, Politics, Parliament and Assemblies, "Local/Municipal Councils: Mayors or Other Leaders and Members," Last retrieved on 14 January 2018. 7 OECD Conference on Improving Women's Access to Leadership—Background Report March 8, 2016. (http://www.oecd.org/daf/ca/OECD-Women-Leadership-2016-Report.pdf

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revealed results similar to those mentioned in the academic literature: cultural and social perceptions regarding the role of women in society and the prevailing cultural attitudes regarding the integration of women in political life; a lack of family support; domestic responsibilities; a lack of confidence; a lack of financial resources; and the absence of support from political parties. In contrast, male MPs noted in their replies to the survey that their political development is liable to be hindered by a lack of support from the electorate and a lack of financial resources. The men listed cultural and social perceptions among the least important factors in developing a political career.8 In addition to these barriers, one should note the fact that in Israel, membership in the council of a local authority does not generally entitle the officeholder to financial remuneration (except for the head of an authority or a salaried deputy head of an authority); it is, instead, volunteer work. This constitutes an additional barrier, which may be much more significant for women.9 Though most of the aforementioned barriers were noted in the context of the national parliamentary political arena, presumably some are relevant to the local arena, as well. Nevertheless, it is important to emphasize that studies indicate that in some countries, women are better able to integrate into local politics than into national politics. Reasons include women's ability to develop better social and professional networks and a better work-life balance at the local level than that at the national level.10 In order to overcome the barriers mentioned above, and to enable women equal representation, to the extent possible, different countries have adopted various tools. Some of the tools are formally regularized, and others are the result of various initiatives by

8 International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), Atlas of Electoral Gender Quotas, 2013. https://www.idea.int/sites/default/files/publications/atlas-of-electoral-gender-quotas.pdf 9 Telephone conversation with Tal Ohana, deputy head of the Yeroham council, on 8 February 2018. In this context we note the Municipalities Ordinance (Amendment—Remuneration for Participation in Meetings, and Reimbursement of Expenses for Council Members) Bill, 5777-2017 submitted by MK David Amsalem and others, which proposes, inter alia, to enshrine the right of members of municipal and local councils— who do not receive a salary from the funds of the local authority—to receive remuneration for participating in meetings of the council and of certain council committees, as well as the right to receive reimbursement for expenses incurred in the fulfillment of their job. See, Hatsaot Hok HaKnesset, vol. 725 (17 July 2017), p. 222, http://fs.knesset.gov.il/20/law/20_ls1_389032.pdf [Hebrew]. The bill was prepared for the first reading by the Knesset Internal Affairs and Environment Committee in July 2017, but has not been advanced since then. 10 United Nations, Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), Against Wind and Tides: A Review of the Status of Women and Gender Equality in the Arab Region (Beijing +20), 7 January 2016. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/2283ESCWA_Women%20and%20Gender%20E quality%20in%20the%20Arab%20Region_Beijing20.pdf

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organizations or political parties. Some of them are implemented on the national level, and some at the local level. In addition, some of the tools, such as quotas, attempt to contend with the existing structural arrangements in the country, while others—such as programs for empowering women, and campaigns for raising awareness of the issue—work to change the social and cultural arrangements. These tools will be discussed in greater detail below. Note that raising the percentage of women in municipal councils is on the agenda of various international bodies, and the issue has been validated on many occasions, whether as part of a broader resolution promoting women in decision-making positions or in specific reference to promoting the participation of women in local government. Thus, for example, both the UN Beijing Declaration of 199511 and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)12 refer to the advancement of women in politics by, inter alia, calling upon states to take steps to ensure that women have equal access to and participation in decision-making entities on all levels, including the local level. The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), too, relate to increasing the percentage of women in local government within the context of the goals aimed at achieving gender equality.13

Note that the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) is presently writing a comparative report regarding women in local politics in Europe. This will include a survey of the tools various countries use to increase the rate of women in municipal councils, and up-to-date information regarding the rate of women in councils.14

11 United Nations, Report of the Fourth World Conference on Women, (New York: United Nations, 1996), http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/beijing/pdf/Beijing%20full%20report%20E.pdf 12 United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, "Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women," http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/text/econvention.htm#part2 13 United Nations, "Sustainable Development Goals," https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdgs. Last retrieved on 18 February 2018. 14 Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), "Women in Local Politics in Europe," http://www.charter-equality.eu/multimedia/publications/women-in-local-politics-in-europe.html, accessed 12 February 2018.

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2. Women in local politics in Israel

2.1. Background

The most recent elections in the local authorities in Israel took place in October 2013. That year, there were 255 local authorities in Israel with residents, and another two industrial councils. Among the local authorities with residents, 54 are regional councils, 75 cities and 126 local councils. Unless otherwise indicated, the data in this document that relate to candidates in elections and representatives in local authorities are based on a data set provided at the request of the RIC by Shlomit Goldstein, Director of Local Elections Operations in the Ministry of the Interior.15 The data set includes information on all the candidates in the local elections—both for seats on the council and for the head of the authority—in the 191 municipalities and local councils that held elections at that time.16

In general, the elections to the local authorities are conducted by placing slips of paper in two envelopes: one (yellow) envelope for the head of the authority and a second (white) envelope for a list of candidates to the local authority's council. Elections to the councils in the local authorities17 take place by means of a proportional-list method, whereby each authority is an electoral district with its own lists of candidates, some of which are connected to a national list while others are independent and local. The election arrangements for the councils are based on the Local Authorities (Elections) Law, 5725-1965. The arrangements for the direct and personal election of the head of the authority is based on the Local Authorities (Election of the Head of the Authority and his Deputies, and their Service) Law, 5735-1975. Until this law was passed, elections were held for all the authorities once every four years, with the intention of linking them to the Knesset elections. However, because the elections to the Knesset were repeatedly held early, the decision was made in 1975 to separate the elections to the local authorities from those to the Knesset, and it was stipulated that the former would be held every five years.18

15 Email from Shlomit Goldstein, Director of Local Elections Operations in the Ministry of the Interior, dated November 28th, 2017. 16 The following local councils did not hold elections in November 2013: Arad, Bak'a al Gharbiya, Bukata, Ein Kanya, I'billin, Jat, Taibe, Majdal Shams, Mas'ada, and Yeroham. 17 Excluding regional councils. 18 Unless otherwise mentioned, this chapter is based on Assaf Meydani "The Law of the Local Government" in Yagil Levy and Eti Sarig (eds.), The Local Government—Between the State, the Community and the Market Economy, (Raanana: Open University Press, 2014), volume A, chapter 3, pp. 119–204.

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The council of the local authority is the entity with the authority and ability to approve issues and matters defined by law, to legislate bylaws, to supervise, to oversee, and to initiate. The council must debate the acts and intentions of the authority's administration, be familiar with the policy that the head of the authority seeks to delineate and express its opinion on it, approve the appointment of senior employees in the authority, examine plans, and approve the budget. Among the powers of the council: appointments, the dismissal and termination of officials, approval of the financial affairs of the authority, management of real estate, establishment of municipal associations, the legislation of bylaws, examination of comptrollers' reports, and supervision and oversight of the head of the authority and appointed officials.19

The number of council members in each authority is determined using an index that is based on the number of registered inhabitants in the local authority around the date of the elections. Table 2 below presents the index for the number of council members based on the population of the authority.

Table 2: Number of council members based on the size of the authority20

Number of inhabitants Number of council members

Up to 1,000 5

1,001–3,000 7

3,001–15,000 9

15,001–25,000 11

25,001–60,000 15

60,001–100,000 17

100,001–200,000 21

200,001–300,000 23

300,001 and above 25

19 For further details see: Mif'am - the system for guidance and development centers in local government, The Guide for the representative in the Local Authority, Part B: the Local Authority Council, pp. 35–154. Last retrieved on January 14, 2018. 20 Circular by the Director General of the Ministry of the Interior 4/2009, March 2009. Last retrieved on January 14, 2018. In small cities, in which there are up to 15,000 inhabitants, the number of council members is nine, in large local authorities, in which the population is above 25,000, the number of council members shall not exceed 15.

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2.2. Women on Local Authority Councils

According to the data received by the RIC from the Ministry of the Interior, 17,673 men and women ran in the 2013 elections for heads of authorities and seats on the authorities' councils; 3,557 of the candidates were women, and 14,116 were men. Some 41 women ran to be heads of authorities, as will be elaborated below. Altogether, approximately 20% of all the candidates who ran for seats on the authorities' councils were women.

Of the 3,557 women who ran to be heads of authorities or council members, 327 women were elected (324 women as council members and another three women as heads of authorities). Thus, only 9% of the women who ran for seats on the councils of the local authorities were elected. By comparison, 2,093 of the men who ran for office—14,116 candidates—were elected. Thus, the percentage of those elected among the men (both as heads of authorities and council members) was 14.8% of those who ran.

In all women make up an average of 13.5% of the total number of council members in the local authorities.

Illustration 1: Candidacy and election in the 2013 elections to the local authorities, by gender21

Over and beyond the general data regarding the aforementioned gender differences among candidates and those elected in the local authorities, we sought to examine the variables that affect the percentage of women on the municipal or local council. Graph 1 below presents the incidence of authorities with at least one female council member, segmented by

21 Data from the Ministry of the Interior as processed by the RIC.

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the socioeconomic ranking of the authority's residents. In other words, in how many of all the authorities belonging to a certain socioeconomic cluster are women represented at all.

Graph 1: The incidence of authorities with any representation of women among the council members, by the socioeconomic ranking of the authority's residents22

100% 100%

90% 86% 87% 80%

70% 60% 50% 45% 40%

30% 25% 20% 10% 9% 0% 0% 1 2 3 4 5 6 +7 Socioeconomic ranking of the authority's residents

The graph suggests a positive correlation between the locality's socioeconomic ranking and the incidence of representation of women among councilmembers. While women are represented to some extent on the council of all the authorities in clusters 7 and above (the relatively affluent local authorities), this incidence drops to 87% of the authorities in clusters 5–6 and to less than half of all the localities in clusters 5 and below. As noted above, the graph refers to authorities in which at least one women serves on the council. Thus, for example, not a single woman serves on the council in 55% of the authorities ranked in cluster 4.

At the same time, we examined the differences in the percentage of women, in cities and local authorities in which women are represented on the council, segmented by the socioeconomic ranking of the authority's residents. The results of this examination are presented in Graph 2 below.

22 Data of the Ministry of the Interior as processed by the RIC.

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Graph 2: Percentage of women councilmembers, by socioeconomic ranking of the authority's residents (authorities with at least one woman on the council)23

of representation שיעור Rateהייצוג

45% 39% 40%

35% 31% 30% 24% 25%

20% 16% 15% 10% 5% 3% 0% 2-4 5 6-7 8-9 10 Socioeconomic ranking

One can see from the graph that in authorities in which women are represented among the council members, the rate of representation rises alongside the socioeconomic strength of the locality's population. Thus, in affluent authorities (clusters 8–10), an average of approximately one-third of council members are women; in clusters 6–7 the rate is slightly less than a quarter; in cluster 5, approximately a sixth; and in clusters 2–4, the average rate of women among council members is only some three percent.

2.3. Women at the head of local authorities

In the 2013 elections, 41 women ran for the top post in 36 municipalities and local councils. Of these candidates, three won their race and were elected to serve as head of the authority. The percentage of women who ran for leadership of an authority out of the total number of candidates for such positions (702) was approximately 6% in this election cycle, a rate lower even than that of women who ran for membership in the authority council (approximately 20%, as mentioned above). In September 2015, a woman was elected as head of the Or

23 Data of the Ministry of the Interior as processed by the RIC. There are no women who serve on the council of an authority in Cluster 1 of the socioeconomic rankings, while there are only two authorities ranked in cluster 10—Savion and Kfar Shemaryahu. Grouping these latter two authorities with those in clusters 8 and 9 results in an average of 33% female council members for clusters 8–10.

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Yehuda local authority in special elections.24 At the time of writing there were in all four women who head an authority, approximately 2% of all mayors and local council heads.

In order to try to characterize the women who ran for the leadership of local authorities, we performed a segmentation of the number of women candidates according to socio-economic rating of the inhabitants of the authorities in which they ran, as appears in table 3 below.

Table 3: Women running for head of authority in the 2013 elections, by authority's socioeconomic rank25

Authority rank Number of Number of Percentage of authorities by socioeconomic local authorities in where women ran to head cluster26 authorities and which women ran the authority, out of the cities in the to head the total number of clusters authority27 authorities in the cluster

1–2 47 0 0%

3–5 82 9 11%

6–7 34 11 33%

8–10 38 16 42%

The table suggests a correlation between the socio-economic rating of the authority and the rate of women who ran for head of an authority. In cities and local councils with the lowest socioeconomic ranking, women did not run at all for head of authority. In this context, note that that all the authorities in clusters 1–2 are Arab or haredi (Jewish ultra-Orthodox) authorities. As socioeconomic ranking increases, so does the incidence of women running for

24 The Official Gazette No. 7120, October 7, 2015. Last retrieved on January 11, 2018. 25 Email from Shlomit Goldstein Director of Local Elections Operations in the Ministry of the Interior, dated 28 November 2017. 26 The segmentation was performed on the basis of a ranking published in late 2016, which was based on 2013 data. For the list of authorities grouped by cluster, see: Central Bureau of Statistics, Chart 2, Local authorities according to ascending order of the socio-economic index for 2013. Last retrieved on 11 January 2018. 27 In Herzliya, Kfar Yona, Sderot, and Tel-Mond, more than one woman ran for head of the authority.

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the leadership positions. Thus, while only in 11% of all the authorities in clusters 3–5 did women run for the leadership position, women were represented among the candidates for head of the authority in more than 40% of those where the population has the highest socioeconomic standing, i.e., clusters 8–10. In the clusters in the middle of the socioeconomic rankings (i.e., clusters 6–7(, women were represented among the candidates for leadership of the authority in approximately a third of the cities and local councils.

Frame 1: Female representation in authorities of the Arab and haredi communities

The under-representation of women is especially noticeable in the Arab and haredi authorities. Thus, in the 73 Arab authorities in which elections were held in 2013, there were 6,327 candidates for head of authority and council member. After subtracting the candidates who were elected to head a local authority, the rate of women who were candidates for council membership was approximately 4% of the total (270). Only six Arab women were elected to the local council and serve as members—less than one percent of the total number of elected council members. Four of the six women are members of the Nazareth city council, and the remaining two are councilmembers in Sakhnin and Eilaboun. Only one women ran for head of an authority (in Nazareth), and she was not elected.

Of the 367 candidates in the seven haredi authorities,28 a total of 16 women ran for seats on the authority council—approximately 4.5% of the total number of candidates for the councils of these authorities. Not a single woman ran for head of a haredi authority. At the end of the election process, 97 candidates were elected—with not a single woman among them.

2.4. Women as deputies to a local authority head

Alongside the examination of the percentage of women among heads of authorities and council members, we sought to examine the percentage of women in one of the senior-most

28 The ultra-Orthodox authorities in Israel are: Elad, Beitar Illit, Bnei Brak, Immanuel, Modi'in Illit, Kiryat Ye'arim and Rekhasim. This list is taken from an appendix on the employment of haredim, which appears on the website of the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Social Services: https://www.google.co.il/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKE wisl8qL0N7YAhVG46QKHfIICbYQFggmMAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Femployment.molsa.gov.il%2Flegi slation%2Fceoinstructions%2Fappendixes%2Fappendix6inst9.3.docx&usg=AOvVaw2fS3ts1Sz2mAHGxB ffPv0j. Retrieved on 20 February 2018

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public/political positions subordinate to the head of the local authority, i.e., the deputy head of the authority—whether the position is granted with pay merely with the title. According to the Local Authorities (Election of the Head of the Authority and his Deputies, and their Service) Law, 5735-1975 (hereinafter in this chapter: the Local Authorities Law), each local authority must appoint a deputy authority head, who serves as acting head of the authority in the absence of the elected authority head. In a local authority with a population above 150,000 (or a local authority in the Negev or the Galilee with over 45,000 residents and which has been recognized by the minister as an immigration-absorbing local authority), two deputies may be appointed. An index was developed to govern the number of salaried deputies that may be appointed; this index appears in Table 4 below.

Table 4: The number of salaried deputies that may be appointed in a local authority, by population of the authority29

Population of the authority Number of salaried deputies

Up to 10,000 0

10,001–20,000 1

20,001–100,000 2

100,001–200,000 3

200,001–400,000 4

400,001–500,000 5

Jerusalem30 8

29 Local Authorities Law, Article 14–15. https://www.nevo.co.il/law_html/Law01/p213_053.htm Last retrieved 14 January 2018 30 Ibid.

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In addition, authorities with over 200,000 residents that do not receive a balancing grant and have no current deficits may employ an additional salaried deputy, subject to approval by the Ministry of the Interior.

The RIC sent a request to the Ministry of the Interior for data regarding the percentage of women among deputy heads of authorities. The reply to this request stated that the Ministry does not collect data regarding deputy heads of authorities.31 This, despite the fact that the appointment of a salaried deputy involves, inter alia, the approval of the municipal council plenum, and an announcement by the local authority regarding the appointment of said deputy to the Director of Human Resources Management in the Local Authorities at the Ministry of Interior.32 Furthermore, the Local Authorities Law stipulates that the Minister of the Interior must publish notices regarding the selection of deputy heads of authorities and the end of said deputies' terms in Reshumot (the Official Gazette).

Therefore, in order to receive information regarding the representation of women among deputy heads of local authorities, we turned to the Forum of Deputies and Acting Heads of Authorities in Israel, part of the Federation of Local Authorities in Israel. Below, we present the data as submitted to us by the Forum. We emphasize that the data are updated to 2015, and that changes have occurred between that date and the time of writing, whether due to rotation agreements, dismissals of deputies from their position, movement into national-level politics following the March 2015 general elections to the Knesset, resignation, etc. We further note that joining the Forum of Deputies is voluntary, and consequently not all the deputy heads of authorities are members (though, according to Forum chair Mr. Uri Bouskila, most deputies are, in fact, members).33

All in all, the data from the Forum indicates a membership of 390 deputies, of whom 203 (52%) are salaried deputies and the rest are non-salaried. The Forum of the Deputy and Acting Heads of Local Authorities does not gather information regarding the gender of

31 Email from Mr. Shimon (Moni) Ma'atuk, Senior Deputy Director General for Human Resources and Administration, in the Ministry of the Interior, dated January 8, 2018. 32 Local Authorities Law, Article 14–15. 33 Telephone conversation with Mr. Uri Bouskila, Chairman of the Forum of Deputies and Acting Heads of Authorities in Israel, held on 6 February 2018. In the absence of a government body that gathers the data systematically, the mapping of the lists of all the deputies in the local authorities in Israel requires an individual approach to each and every one of them. We found that due to the effort required to attain the information as mentioned, it is more appropriate to use the list held by the Forum, even though it is incomplete.

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its members. The RIC therefore examined members' gender on the basis of their names while examining the websites of the relevant local authorities in cases where it was not possible to determine the deputy's gender by name alone (there are quite a few unisex Hebrew names). The results are presented below.

Our survey found that:

 Of the total number of deputies, 45 (approximately 12%) are women. This rate is similar to that of the overall rate of women in the local authorities—13.5%.  Of those deputies, 20 (approximately 45%) are salaried deputies, as opposed to 53% of male deputies who receive salaries. All the salaried female deputies serve in cities. Accordingly, the percentage of female deputies who perform the job unpaid is higher than the percentage of male deputy heads of authorities who perform the job unpaid.  In the local councils, all the women who serve as deputy heads of authorities—19 in number—are deputies in title only (i.e., without a salary). The same is true of six of the women who hold this position in cities.

3. Tools for increasing the representation of women in politics

As stated, various countries have adopted different tools for increasing the representation of women in politics. Some of the tools are codified in legislation, while others are the result of various initiatives by organizations or parties. Some are implemented on the national level, others on a local level. Moreover, some of the tools attempt to contend with the state's existing structures while others try to change societal and cultural structures. Obviously, these tools are not mutually exclusive and can operate side-by-side.

This section will review some of the tools that exist in different countries. We will start by presenting arrangements regarding quotas, which are an important tool for increasing the representation of women in politics—including municipal politics—and continue by examining various projects that exist in a number of countries and relate to initiatives to change the country's political culture and worldview.

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3.1. Representation quotas for women34

Representation quotas for women are a major tool for increasing women's representation in the various political institutions. The quotas relate to the number or percentage of women who must be included in a list of candidates or to the number of seats that must be reserved for them. The goal of the quotas is to level the political playing field for men and women and overcome some of the aforementioned barriers that women face. Quotas in the political arena can be set on all levels, including the municipal level.

The underlying premise of establishing quotas is that the equal treatment of men and women in the political world is insufficient to achieve equality; rather, overcoming the structural barriers that women face in election processes and achieving results that reflect gender equality requires setting clear numerical objectives. Those who support setting quotas argue that women have the right to equal representation in the political world and that quotas enable them to overcome the obstacles they face in their effort to participate in politics. Those who oppose quotas argue, inter alia, that they infringe on equality of opportunity by granting preference to women and that politicians are not elected on the basis of gender but on the basis of their qualifications. Despite the opposition, quotas are quite prevalent and accepted; today, quotas for the representation of women exist at various political levels in over 100 countries. It is important to note that the quotas do not remove all the structural, institutional, and social barriers that confront women in the political arena, and they must be accompanied by social, political and cultural changes.

According to the academic literature, gender quotas are the most effective tool for increasing the percentage of women in elected bodies. Nevertheless, in order for quotas to be meaningful, the following conditions must apply: a) The quota must include clear, numerical objectives; b) The quota must be tailored to the country's political system, the structure of voting, the type of list, and additional relevant characteristics; c) The quotas must be accompanied by well-designed quota that reference, inter alia, the process of ranking the candidates and their place on the list; d) The quotas must include sanctions for non-

34 The information in this chapter is taken from: IDEA, Atlas of Electoral Gender Quotas, 2013. https://www.idea.int/sites/default/files/publications/atlas-of-electoral-gender-quotas.pdf; idem, "Gender Quota Database". https://www.idea.int/data-tools/data/gender-quotas/quotas, Last retrieved on February 12, 2018

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compliance. Two common sanctions are the disqualification of lists of candidates and a monetary fine.

It is important to emphasize that if parties place the women at the tail end of the party list, the quota turns into a meaningless mechanism. A numerical quota alone is not sufficient to ensure that a sufficient number of women will be elected; the quota must address the placement of women in slots on the lists of candidates that allow them a realistic chance of being elected. Accordingly, various models of quotas include rules regarding both: the percentage or number of women in the list, as well as their position within it. These are called double quotas. Various rules exist that govern the place of the women in the list, including: the zipper (or zebra) method, whereby the list of candidates is set by alternating women and men; a requirement that both genders be represented in the first two positions; a requirement that every five slot on the list have a 60:40 ratio between men and women; or a requirement that every three slots include one woman.

In some countries, the quotas are defined as "gender-neutral" rather than quotas intended specifically to benefit women. In other words, they are designed to correct the under- representation of either gender, should it exist. Such quotas usually set a minimal level of representation for each gender of at least 40% (and, consequently, no more than 60%).

Quotas can be adopted in two ways: They can be set statutorily, whereby the state obligates parties to have a certain percentage of candidates representing each gender, or voluntarily by the political parties. In some of the countries where quotas were determined by statute, the state decided to increase the representation of women through quotas, without any prior cultural change regarding the view of women's roles. Therefore, in several of these countries, the percentage of women in the political institutions (which is relatively high) does not correspond to their low status in society. However, the voluntary adoption of quotas is usually connected to cultural and social changes, which led to an improvement in women's status in the society and resulted in the voluntary adoption of quotas.35

35 Asa Shapira, Ofer Kenig, Chen Friedberg and Reut Itzkovitch-Malka, The Representation of women in policies: Israel in comparative perspective, Policy Study 99, Israel Democracy Institute, August 2013 (Hebrew). https://www.idi.org.il/media/3317/99.pdf

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Quotas in the political arena are customarily divided into three main types:

Legislated candidate quotas—These quotas require the parties running in elections to ensure that a certain number or percentage of their candidates are women. These quotas are usually codified in election laws or in the constitution.

Legislated "reserved seats"—These quotas require a certain number or percentage of seats in the elected body to be allocated to women. These quotas, too, quotas are usually codified in election laws or in the constitution.

Party quotas—Quotas regarding the percentage of women on the party's list, which each party adopts of its own initiative. These quotas are usually determined in the party's rules of procedure.

It is important to emphasize that a system of quotas that does not conform to the customary electoral system is largely symbolic.

3.2. Best practices models for including women in politics36

Alongside quotas on the national or party level, as mentioned above, additional tools exist for increasing the representation of women in politics in general, and in municipal politics in particular. Below, we review several tools considered "best practices" in advancing this goal:

Empowerment and competence development—Programs for the development of political skills among women exist in several countries, including Germany, Portugal, Malta and the Czech Republic. The programs differ from one another in various ways, including the organizations that run them, the political level for which the program is designed (national or local), the audience to which the program is targeted, and the services the programs provide. Nevertheless, it can be said that these programs usually include work with women on issues of communication and on creating and developing organizational contacts alongside mentoring, training, and the like. The programs usually work to help women enter local politics, and focus on up-and-coming young women. Some of the programs are run by large political parties interested in strengthening the women in their lists, while others

36 EIGE (European Institute for Gender Equality), Study on Good Practices- Women in power and decision- making, Empowering Women in Politics, 2015; ibid, Advancing Women in Political Decision-Making - Way Forward, 2015; https://eige.europa.eu/rdc/eige-publications/advancing-women-political-decision-making- way-forward-study-good-practices-women-power-and-decision-making, 2016.

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cross party lines and are run by various organizations. Below are examples of such programs in two countries:

 Germany (Helene Weber Kolleg)—In Germany, women constitute approximately a quarter of the members of municipal councils and only 10% of the heads of municipal authorities. The goal of the current project, which began in 2011, is to encourage women to participate in local politics, improve their political prospects, and create a network for support and cooperation. This project is supported by the German Federal Government. It crosses party lines and provides a monetary prize to outstanding female politicians on the local level. These women encourage additional women to participate in politics through local initiatives. In addition, the project runs a nine-month–long mentoring program for potential female candidates who wish to participate in local politics. Between 2011 and 2015, 45 women received the monetary prize, and 107 women participated in the monitoring programs.

 Portugal (From Woman to Woman)—This project was carried out between 2008 and 2010 by the Portuguese Network of Young People for Gender Equality, a nonprofit organization, and was supported by the European Union. Its goal was to empower up-and-coming young women and to motivate them to take a part in politics, particularly at the local level. The multi-party project was designed for women ages 16–30, while emphasizing women from minority groups. In order to expand the program's target audience, the women who sought to participate were not required to have any political experience. The project focused, inter alia, on improving the women's political skills and sense of self-confidence. The project included assistance and mentoring, courses on the development of various relevant skills, etc. In addition, the project organizers sought to create a change in cultural and social views among men, too, and therefore young men participated in the project through events and gatherings on the nature and importance of gender equality to which they were invited.

Awareness-raising—Campaigns to raise awareness of the importance of women's participation in politics take place in several countries. Some are designed for the general public, others for a specific target audience. Some of the campaigns promote gender equality in elections on a general level, others disseminate relevant information regarding women candidates, and still others target men to increase their awareness of the importance of gender

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equality in politics. These campaigns are usually designed to overcome some of the barriers related to stereotypes regarding women's role in society. By raising awareness of the issue, the political parties and the general public are required to pay attention to the degree of gender balance within the various electoral lists. The tools used in such campaigns include publicizing lists that ignore the country's quota requirements, stereotypical and offensive statements made by politicians, guides to provide women with tools that could help them break into the political world, guides about the conditions required for achieving a "woman- friendly" workspace; calling for constitutional changes; and more.

Such campaigns have been run in several countries including Croatia, Ireland, Portugal and Sweden. It is difficult to difficult to assess or isolate the campaigns' success, but in some of the countries where such campaigns were run, they are considered to be one of the factors that helped increase the representation of women on both the national and local levels. We note that, as a general rule, for a campaign to be effective it must be accompanied by an additional tool such as quotas or programs for the development of political skills among women.

Frame 2: Changing discriminatory party practice—the Netherlands37

The Dutch SGP (Staatkundig Gereformeerde Partij, translated as Reformed Political Party) is a conservative party with a theocratic Christian stance. Until 2013, the party prohibited women from joining its electoral lists due to religious prohibitions and arguments that women's participation in politics contradicts their purpose in life as set forth in the Bible. This position was frequently criticized, both within the Netherlands and by various international organizations. On several occasions, the UN called on the Dutch Government to take action to end this practice on the grounds that it violates the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Nevertheless, the Dutch Government chose not to act, arguing that this was a case of conflicting basic rights—freedom of religion and freedom of association on the one hand, and equality and the absence of discrimination on the other. After a seven-year legal battle by women's organizations against the party and the Dutch Government, the European Court of Human Rights affirmed the decision by the Supreme Court of the Netherlands that the state cannot accept the exclusion of women from the party and must, instead, impose sanctions it. As a result, in 2013, the party changed its existing practices and determined that a candidate's gender is not grounds to bar him or her from running on the party's electoral lists. In 2014, the party fielded its first female candidate; she was elected and served as a member of the Vlissingen city council.

37 EIGE, "Advancing Women in Political Decision Making", 2016. See footnote 36.

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3.3. Tools for encouraging representation of women in municipal politics in Israel

Because the rate of female representation in the local authorities is so low, recent years have seen examination of various methods to raise it. These will be presented in the coming chapter.

3.3.1. Monetary incentives for encouraging the securing of the representation of women in local government

The Local Authorities (Elections Financing) Law, 5754-1993 stipulates the method of financing local elections by the State treasury. Funding is provided both to those running for head of the authority and to the lists (i.e., groups) of candidates running for seats on the city council. The basis for determining the level of financing to which the various candidates are entitled is the "calculation unit," which is granted for each eligible voter. The amount is set in Article 3 of the aforementioned law and is linked to the consumer price index. For the 2013 local elections, the value of a calculation unit was NIS 42 per eligible voter.38

In 2014, Amendment No. 12 to the Local Authorities (Elections Financing) Law was passed to raise the rate of representation of women in local politics by creating a monetary incentive for placing women in positions on electoral lists that allow them a realistic chance of being elected to office. The amendment stipulates that factions in the local authorities which are at least one-third women will receive increased election financing—an additional 15% of the election financing to which it is entitled by law. According to the amendment, this provision shall apply as of the next elections to local councils39 in October 2018.

According to a 2014 estimate prepared by the RIC, the estimated cost resulting from the bill, which was being debated at the time, was between approximately NIS 10.2 million and approximately NIS 34.5 million. This estimate is based on the results of the 2013 municipal elections, when 1,219 lists were elected to the local authorities throughout the country, of

38 From Eliezer Schwartz, "Cost Estimate of Local Authorities (Elections Financing) (Amendment No. 12) (Encouragement of Equal Representation for Women) Bill, 5774—2014," Knesset Research and Information Center, 4 March 2014. [Hebrew] 39 The Law applies to local authorities and cities only, since the financing mechanism in regional authorities is determined according to a different index.

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which 218 lists (some 17% of the lists that ran) had women comprising at least a third of the elected representatives.40

An earlier version of the Bill proposed that a financial sanction be imposed on factions in which the list of candidates does not include at least one women among every three candidates. This sanction would have taken the form of a 30% reduction in the level of financing to which the faction was entitled.41

We note that adoption of the recommendations of the Committee for the Advancement of Women in Local Government, which are presented in Frame 3 below, and the formation of a practicable plan to implement them, may also expedite the process of achieving equal representation for women in local government.

Frame 3: The report of the Committee for the Advancement of Women in Local Government—draft recommendations by the Ministry of the Interior

In order to advance the status of women in local government, the Ministry of the Interior established a committee, which was chaired by Ms. Lizy Delaricha, the head of the Ganei Tikva local council. According to her letter of appointment, which was published on 6 April 2016, the committee was given the mandate to recommend ways of promoting women, both those who are elected and those who work as professionals in local authorities and associated corporations.42

As part of this process, the Ministry of the Interior performed a study on the subject in cooperation with ADALYA Consulting & Management, which was presented to a session of the Knesset Committee on the Status of the Women and Gender Equality on 20 November 2017.43 The study pointed out various barriers that result in the under-representation of women in local authorities: lack of information, inappropriate norms and a lack of awareness, absence of suitable legislation, lack of efficient enforcement, and insufficient incentives to encourage female initiative.

40 For more details see Eliezer Schwartz, "Cost Estimate of Local Authorities (Elections Financing) (Amendment No. 12) (Encouragement of Equal Representation for Women) Bill, 5774—2014," Knesset Research and Information Center, 4 March 2014. [Hebrew] 41 Amendment No. 12 to the Local Authorities (Elections Financing), 5774—2014. 42 Minister of the Interior, Office of the Director General, Appointment letter for the Committee for the Advancement of Women in Local Government, 5 April 2016. Last retrieved 18 February 2018. 43 The Committee on the Status of Women and Gender Equality, on the Conclusions of the Public Committee for the Advancement of women in Local Government, held on 20 November 2017.

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The study included a segmentation of the percentage of female council members in all the authorities, as well as an analysis of the percentage of women in 113 "representative" local authorities (thus according to the presentation shown to the Committee on the Status of Women), excluding Arab and haredi authorities.44 This presentation suggests that the percentage of female councilmembers has increased over the years; however, this rate is still low compared to the rate of women in the general population—even when the analysis is performed on the "representative" authorities—and stands at approximately 21%.45

The Committee made the following recommendations related to increasing the percentage of women among the elected representatives in the local authorities: transparent information regarding gender representation, equal representation for women on the candidate lists of the factions in the local authorities, and encouraging the inclusion of women in positions on the local council. The Committee also recommended that the Ministry of the Interior be required to publish an annual report regarding female council members in the local authorities as well as on female council members on the mandatory committees in the authority.46 The Committee defined the following tools to attain the goal of equal representation in the factions' lists: granting financial incentives at varying rates to finance the winning faction and party. As described above, this has already been codified in legislation, and the change will be evident in the upcoming elections to the local authorities. In addition, the Committee recommended the establishment of a fund to encourage women's participation in politics; it would promote the entry of women into the local political arena by helping finance the costs of political campaigns. According to the draft recommendations, the assistance would be provided to women who are interested in running on an existing list, or who form a new list, while granting preference to women from haredi or non-Jewish local authorities who are running for the leadership of a list and demonstrate matching funds.47 The Ministry's recommendations do not mention who will provide the money for this fund and how candidates will receive this financing. In addition, the draft recommendations mention a female social network, and recommends promoting local leadership for women who are community activists. We did not find reference to this subject beyond the recommendation to "formulate a leadership model, and

44 The Ministry of the Interior and “Adalya”, presentation of a draft of the recommendations of the report of the Committee for the Advancement of Women in Local Government, the Committee on the Status of Women and Gender Equality, 20 November 2017. 45 Ibid. 46 For the list of mandatory committees in a local authority see: Municipalities Ordinance (new version), Chapter Eight: Council Committees. 47 Ibid.

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issue a 'call for applications' for the local authorities," even though the professional literature suggests that a social media network is a catalyst to political participation among women.48

The RIC sent a query to the Ministry of the Interior regarding adopting and acting on the Committee's recommendations, but no reply had been received up to the time of writing.

48 Osnat Akirav & Yael Ben-Horin Naot, "Shall you hear my voice? From civil participation to political participation of women in local politics" in: Itai Beeri & Eran Razin eds. Local democracy in Israel - decentralization, locality, and local political participation Part. 2, Jerusalem, Florsheimer Studies, the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, November 2015, pp. 164–89.[Hebrew]

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3.3.2. Bills for securing female representation in elections to the Knesset and local authorities

As elaborated above, the most meaningful and common tool for promoting women's participation in local and national politics is setting quotas for the representation of women. These quotas can be codified in law by the State, or on a voluntary basis by the political parties. For some 25 years, bills have periodically been introduced in the Knesset (including in the current 20th Knesset) to raise the percentage of women in the Knesset, the Government, and the local authorities and boards of directors of municipal corporations. The overwhelming majority of the proposals did not go beyond the stage of submission before preliminary debate and did not progress to the more advanced stages of the legislative process. Below we present, by way of example, two recent bills to ensure representation for women in Knesset elections. As of the time of writing, both bills are still in the stage of submission before preliminary debate.

 In June 2017, MK Ksenia Svetlova submitted Basic Law: the Knesset (Amendment— Prevention of Participation in Elections due to the Absence of Representation for Members of Both Genders) to prevent parties from running in Knesset elections if exclude women from their lists.49  In July 2017, MK Merav Michaeli and additional MKs submitted Basic Law: the Knesset (Amendment—Minimal Representation for Both Genders in Lists of Candidates to the Knesset), whereby both genders would compose at least 40% of the candidates on every list for Knesset elections and have at least two representatives in each set of five candidates.50

Though there are no statutory quotas for the representation of women on the lists of candidates in the elections to local authorities in Israel, some of the political parties— especially national parties—have set voluntary quotas. These quotas ensure that women are given places on the list that provide them a realistic chance of election, though at rates that vary by party.

49 Private Members Bill 4284/20, Basic Law: the Knesset (Prevention of Participation in Elections due to the Absence of Representation for Members of Both Genders). 50 Private Members Bill 4541/20, Basic Law: the Knesset (Amendment—Minimal Representation for Both Genders in Lists of Candidates to the Knesset).

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4. Women in local authorities—a comparative perspective

The following chapter presents data from various countries regarding the representation of women as members and as heads of municipal councils. For the sake of comparison, we will present data regarding the representation of women in these countries' national parliaments and note the existence of statutory gender quotas that relate to the representation of women in national parliaments and municipal authorities. Thereafter, we will briefly present information on the Scandinavian countries—which have a relatively high percentage of women in municipal government, several additional countries which have quotas for the representation of women in municipal councils, and several Arab countries that recently adopted quotas for the representation of women in local government. It is important to emphasize that the percentage of women elected to municipal councils is influenced by a set of factors, including the electoral system and the size of the voting districts. It is therefore difficult to isolate quotas and examine the precise effect they have on the representation of women, as compared to other factors.51 Therefore, in the detailed country survey below, we indeed present the percentage of women before and after the adoption of the quota in the country (insofar as we managed to locate dependable data on this matter). At the same time, however, it would not be proper to conclude that the entirety of the change that occurred is attributable exclusively to the adoption of the quota. We note that according to the European Commission, it is difficult to gather data regarding the percentage of women and men serving in various institutions of local government. This is due to the great variety in the systems of local government in the different countries and the lack of uniformity in the collection of the information and in the intervals at which it is updated.52 Table 5 below presents the percentage of women in municipal councils, at the head of municipal authorities, and in the national parliaments in various countries, as well as the existence of statutory quotas. The countries in the table are organized in descending order, by the percentage of women in the municipal councils.

51 Lior Ben David and Orly Almagor-Lotan, The Representation of Women in Local Government: Data on Israel and a Comparative Survey, the RIC, December 2, 2009. https://www.knesset.gov.il/mmm/data/pdf/m02432.pdf 52 European Commission, 2017 Report on Equality between Women and Men in the EU, 2017 https://publications.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/72e1386a-40f4-11e7-a9b0- 01aa75ed71a1/language-en/format-PDF

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Table 5: Percentage of women on municipal councils, at the head of municipal councils and in the national parliaments of the various countries, 201753

Country % of % of women Statutory % of women in Statutory women in at head of representation lower house of quotas in municipal municipal quotas in municipal national parliament councils council councils54 parliament

Iceland 44 21.6 No 38.1 No Sweden 43 36.9 No 43.6 No Finland 39.1 21.4 No55 42 No56 Norway 39 28 No 41.4 No France 38.7 16 Yes57 39 Yes Spain 35.6 19.1 Yes 39.1 Yes UK 31.8 17.4 No 32 No Slovenia 31.8 7.5 Yes58 36.7 Yes Latvia 31,3 24.4 No59 16 No60 Estonia 31.1 12.8 No61 26.7 No62 Italy 30.4 14.1 No 31 No

Hungary 30.1 20.5 No63 10.1 No Macedonia 28.8 4.9 Yes 37.5 Yes Netherlands 28/6 21.6 No 36 No Denmark 28.5 11.2 No 37/4 No Poland 27.4 10.7 Yes 28 Yes Czech 27.1 4.2 No 22 No Republic Portugal 26.6 7.5 Yes 34.8 Yes Slovakia 25.8 23.3 No 20 No

53 EIGE op. cit. See footnote 6. 54 IDEA op. cit. See footnote 34. 55European Centre for Parliamentary Research and Documentation (ECPRD), "Obligatory gender quotas on election lists - Final Summary", 2014 56 Ibid. 57 European Parliament, "The Policy on Gender Equality in France", 2015. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/IDAN/2015/510024/IPOL_IDA(2015)510024_EN.pdf 58 ECPRD op. cit. See footnote 56. 59 Ibid. 60 Ibid. 61 Ibid. 62Ibid. 63 IDEA op. cit. See footnote 34

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Lithuania 24.9 8.3 No 21.3 No Austria 23 7.5 No 34.4 No Luxembourg 22.7 12.4 No 28.3 No Malta 22 17.6 No 11.9 No` Ireland 21.8 9.7 No 22.2 Yes Croatia 19.8 7 Yes 18.5 Yes Greece 17.3 4.9 Yes 18.3 Yes Cyprus 15.3 7.6 No 17.9 No Romania 12.4 4.5 No 20.7 No Turkey 10.7 2.7 No 14.6 No

The Scandinavian countries64

In the Scandinavian countries, the percentage of women in municipal councils is the highest among the countries that we surveyed in this document; in some, more than 40% percent of the council members were women. These countries were the first to adopt a policy of affirmative action for women, but the process occurred by means of internal party changes and not through legislation. The minimum percentage of the quota increased gradually, and in most of the parties, it currently stands at 40% percent. The quota usually stipulates not only the percentage of women on the lists but also what position they occupy. Nevertheless, in the Scandinavian countries, too, women still make up a minority of the heads of the authorities. In other words, absolute gender equality does not exist even in these countries.

64 Ofer Kenig, "Women in key political positions: Israel in comparative perspective", Israel Democracy Institute, 31 October 2010. https://www.idi.org.il/articles/7829; Lior Ben David, "Equal representation of women in the political parties," RIC, 26 January 2005.

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Spain 65

In 2007 Spain adopted the Equality Law (Ley de Igualdad). The law mandates parties to ensure that members of each gender represent no less than 40% (and therefore no more than 60%) of the candidates on their electoral lists. This provision regarding the representation of both genders apply to every set of five positions on the list. When there are fewer than five places on the list, the number of women and men must be as close as possible to equal. The provisions of the law apply to every list and every level of politics in Spain. The 2007 law did not apply to villages with a population under 5,000, but it was amended in 2011 to apply to authorities with a population over 3,000. The strength of the Spanish quota system lies in the fact that the law includes the harsh sanction of disqualifying a list that does not meet the quota requirement. At the same time, the quota requires that the representation ratio be maintained in each quintuplet; this prevents parties from pushing the women who compose the 40% quota to which they are obliged to the bottom of the candidate list. Studies demonstrate that after the law was enacted and the quotas were set, the share of women on all levels in the political arena rose.66 The share of women in the municipal councils rose from 32.3% in 2003 (before the law was enacted) to 39.4% in 2007 (after the law was enacted).67 As mentioned, in 2007, women made up 35.6% of the members in the municipal councils and 19.1% of the heads of municipal councils. Note, however, that these data include localities to which the law does not apply; if such localities are excluded, the percentage of women in the municipal councils (to which the law does apply) may be even higher.

65 The information regarding Spain is taken from: EIGE, "Electoral Quotas that Work," http://eige.europa.eu/gender-mainstreaming/good-practices/spain/electoral-quotas-work; IDEA, op, cit. See footnote 8. 66 EIGE, "Electoral Quotas that Work"; Lior Ben David & Orly Almagor-Lotan op. cit. See footnote 52. 67 Lior Ben David & Orly Almagor-Lotan op. cit. See footnote 52.

הכנסת מרכז המחקר והמידע עמוד 31 מתוך35

France68

France was the first country in the world to enact laws that require equal representation for male and female candidates in various types of elections. The Equality Law (Loi de Parité) enacted in France in June 2000, requires, inter alia, that women and men be equally represented in lists of candidates for municipal elections. The law applies to localities with more than 3,500 residents. An additional law enacted in France in 2007 further reinforced the requirement for equal representation on the municipal level. This law amended the requirements governing the placement of women in lists and stipulated that men and women are to be placed in lists of candidates according to the zipper system, so that a man and a woman (or the other way around) occupy each set of two places on the list. An additional law based on the two aforementioned laws was enacted in 2013 and expanded the provisions regarding equal representation for men and women on the local level to every locality with more than 1,000 residents. Note that a list that fails to meet the requirements of the law on the municipal level is disqualified. The strength of the equal representation requirement in France lies both in the fact that it is a double quota, which also includes rules governing the position of the women on the list, and in the imposition of sanctions if the rules are violated. The European Parliament report on the French policy regarding gender equality suggests a noticeable difference exists in the percentage of female members between municipal councils that are subject to the quota and those that are not (due to population size). Thus, for example, according to the data presented in the Report, in the 2008 elections (when the quota applied to localities with a population of over 3,500) women made up 48.5% of the councilmembers in localities where the quota applied, as compared to 32.2% of the councilmembers in localities not subject to the quota rules. That year, women constituted an average of 35% of the members of municipal councils. As mentioned above, in 2017, women constituted 38.7% of the members of municipal councils.

68 The information regarding France is taken from: OCED Conference, op. cit, see footnote 4; European Commission, "The Situation of Gender Equality at Local and Regional Level in Europe," 10 August 2015. http://www.ccre.org/img/uploads/piecesjointe/filename/CEMR_Situation_of_gender_equality_at_local_and _regional_level_in_Europe_Final_report_2015_EN.pdf; European Parliament. op cit, see footnote 58; Lior Ben David & Orly Almagor-Lotan, op. cit., see footnote 52.

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Women in municipal authorities in selected Arab countries69

In recent years, changes have been taking place in some Arab countries in the attitudes towards women, including changes concerning women's involvement in politics. We note that the Arab countries vary greatly regarding the political rights granted to women; in some, women gained the right to vote and run for election (including in municipal elections) only in recent years. For example, women in Saudi Arabia were first able to run and vote in municipal elections only in 2015. In order to promote women's participation in politics, some of the Arab states have adopted various tools, including quotas. A UN report published in 201770 reviews the representation of women in local government in most of the Arab states (though some of the information it includes is partial or relates to previous years). According to the data in the report, in some Arab states, the adoption of quotas was found to be effective on both the national parliamentary and local levels. According to the data, in the Arab states for which information is available, women are best represented in local government in Jordan (around 36%) and Mauritania (35%). On the opposite end of the spectrum, women are barely represented in local government in Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt (3.5%, 0.7% and 4.4% of the total number of council members, respectively). In addition, in the Arab states it is rare to find women at the head of a municipal authority. Below is more detailed information regarding Jordan and Mauritania, where, as mentioned above, the share of women in municipal councils are the highest in the Arab states. We also present information regarding Morocco, where the percentage of women in the municipal councils increased greatly in the last decade and is today among the highest rates in the Arab states. In Jordan a law passed in January 2007 instituted a gender quota for women in municipal councils—20% of the seats in each local council were reserved for women. In elections held

69 The Information about Arab states is taken from: United Nations, Women’s Political Representation in the Arab Region, 2017, https://www.unescwa.org/sites/www.unescwa.org/files/publications/files/women- political-representation-arab-region-english.pdf; idem, Against Wind and Tides: A Review of the Status of Women and Gender Equality in the Arab Region (Beijing +20), 7 January 2016. https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/2283ESCWA_Women%20and%20Gender%20E quality%20in%20the%20Arab%20Region_Beijing20.pdf; United Nations Women, Jordan's Sixth National Periodic Report to the CEDAW Committee, 2015. http://www2.unwomen.org/- /media/field%20office%20jordan/attachments/publications/final%20english%20book2.pdf?la=en&vs=2010; IDEA, Op. cit. See footnote 8. 70 United Nations (2017), see footnote 69.

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in August 2013, the rate of women in the municipal councils rose to 35.9% as around 350 women were elected council members (around 300 women under the quota and around 50 women independently of it). According to the authors of the report, the increased number of women elected to councils independently of the quota (up from around 20 in 2007 to around 50 in 2013, as mentioned above) may indicate that the women's participation in politics in Jordan is becoming slightly more acceptable among the general public.71 Mauritania amended its Electoral Law in 2012—an amendment that was first implemented in the national and local elections of 2013—providing, inter alia, for a gender quota setting aside 20% percent of the seats in municipal councils for women (a quota of reserved seats). In order to achieve the goal of having women fill at least 20% percent of the seats in the council, the quota also addresses the precise number of women that must appear on each list of candidates and their place on the list, accounting for the size of the councils. Parties running for councils with 9–11 must include at least two women in their lists, with the women occupying one of the two first places on the list as well as the fourth slot. Lists for councils with 15–17 members must include at least 3 women at least; they must hold one of the first two places in the list as well as the fifth and seventh places. Lists for councils with 19 or more members must include at least four women, who hold one of the first two places as well as the fifth, seventh, and ninth places. A party that does not meet the quota requirements is disqualified.72 According to UN data, in 2013, after the adoption of the quota, women made up 35% of the members in the municipal councils.

In Morocco, a 2008 law instituted a quota reserving 12% of seats for women. In addition, the Government helped run programs to train female candidates and inform the public about the participation of women; it also provided a financial incentive to political parties that supported the female candidates. As a result of these measures, the share of women in local government rose significantly, from 0.6% before the change to 12.3% in 2009 after the change. Some 3,406 women were elected (compared to 127 women who served before the reform)—3,200 through the quota and 206 women without it.73 Before the 2015 local elections, the parliament adopted a new law regarding elections on the local level, with the

71 Ibid. 72 IDEA op. cit, see footnote 8. 73 United Nations (2017), see footnote 69.

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goal of raising the share of women from 12% to 27%. According to data in the aforementioned report, the share of women in the municipal councils rose after the elections to around 21%.

הכנסת מרכז המחקר והמידע עמוד 35 מתוך35