Women running cities: The message of local authority heads at a meeting in central Israel

Ten female local authority heads gathered over the weekend in Ganei Tikva, at the initiative of Mayor Lizy Delaricha, to voice a clear message against the exclusion of women from national decision-making centers. The meeting aimed to highlight the lack of female representation in the Knesset and call on parties to commit to gender equality in coalition agreements.

Ten female local authority heads from across the country gathered over the weekend in Ganei Tikva, at the initiative and hosting of Mayor Lizy Delaricha, to voice a clear message: the exclusion of women from national decision-making centers must stop. The meeting included Lizy Delaricha (Ganei Tikva), Galit Shaul (Emek Hefer), Rotem Yadlin (Gezer), Hila Ben Harosh (Kochav Yair-Tzur Yigal), Dafna Rabinovich (Shoham), Shlomit Shichor Reichman (Emek Yizrael), Michal Uziyahu (Eshkol), Or Piron-Zomer (Oranit), Osherat Gani Gonen (Drom HaSharon), and Mira Ben Ari (Gan Raveh). The meeting aimed to highlight the reality of the upcoming elections: no woman heads a list expected to enter the Knesset, and the issue of gender equality is almost entirely pushed off the agenda. The local authority heads stated that they manage cities and councils, budgets of hundreds of millions of shekels, and complex systems daily, and demand to see the same leadership standard in the country's leadership. They called on all parties and factions running for the Knesset to accept a public and binding commitment: enshrining gender equality and appropriate female representation in coalition agreements; appointing women to key portfolios—economic, security, and social; and passing a government decision within the first weeks of its formation setting a target of at least 50% women in appointments of directors general to government ministries, public boards, negotiation teams, and planning and policy centers.