When fair representation becomes a glass ceiling
The Interior Ministry is effectively preventing the appointment of women to boards of municipal corporations when their appointment could create a female majority. Municipal leaders have turned to the Attorney General. The author argues that the principle of fair representation, intended to prevent the exclusion of women, is becoming a new glass ceiling.
The Interior Ministry is effectively preventing the appointment of women to boards of municipal corporations when their appointment could create a female majority on the board. This emerges from a letter sent last month by Gezer Regional Council head Rotem Yadlin, Rehovot Mayor Matan Dil, and South Sharon Regional Council head Oshrat Gani Gonen to the Attorney General and the Interior Ministry. The letter described three cases where appointments of women were not approved: in Gezer, after the council's treasurer was replaced by a female treasurer; in Rehovot, after a male CEO was replaced by a female CEO; and in South Sharon, when they sought to appoint a public representative to the board of the economic company. The author, a lawyer and expert in promoting gender equality, argues that the principle of fair representation, intended to prevent the exclusion of women from decision-making centers, is now being used precisely to prevent their entry. She quotes Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who was asked when there would be enough women on the Supreme Court and replied "nine." The author concludes that fair representation is meant to shatter the glass ceiling, and we must not allow it to become a new ceiling.