There is no question that the women's struggle for the right to vote and be elected, was a cornerstone of the establishment of Israel's young democracy. Yet, after the declaration of principles for women's suffrage was affirmed at the Zionist Congress in 1899, women's struggle for political equality, and the subject of their representation in the institutions of power in Israel, was not yet over and remains very much alive till this very day. Furthermore, one significant development in the direction of democratization in Israel that took place during the 1980s – namely, transferring the candidates’ selection process for the major parties to the Knesset from the organizing committees to the electoral bodies – did not particularly improve the status of women in politics in Israel. This organizational change did, however, lead to changes in the profile of the Israeli politician (whereas the old model of a politician was Ashkenazi, a veteran, someone from the center of the country and a man; since then a large group of immigrants from Asia / Africa, the children of immigrants and people from the periphery have entered the upper echelons of the parties), but for the most part the characteristic of the Israeli politician remains male.
This article reviews the issue of women in Israeli politics from a diachronic perspective; presents the fundamental sociological reasons for the current situation and finally examines what can be done about it.