Women's Lobby Urges Voters to Scrutinize Parties' Records on Gender Equality

The Women's Lobby in Israel is urging women to examine the legislative records of political parties and Knesset members concerning women's rights and gender equality ahead of the upcoming elections on October 27. Tal Hochman, the organization's executive director, emphasized the importance of making electoral decisions based on past actions and legislative stances rather than solely on campaign promises.

This call comes after the Women's Lobby published its "Legislative Index," which analyzes thousands of proposed bills from the 25th Knesset (2022-2026) for their potential impact on women's rights and gender equality. Hochman stated that the organization has compiled a database to inform the public about who has actively promoted women's rights and who has introduced initiatives that undermine them.

The report reveals a significant gap between proposed legislation and enacted laws. While 86.6% of bills classified as supportive of equality remained in the early stages, 19.4% of those deemed detrimental to equality reached the final reading. The report highlights "Yesh Atid" with 144 proposals, the Labor Party with 101, and Hadash-Ta'al with 73 as parties submitting the most equality-supporting bills. Among individual Knesset members, Merav Michaeli submitted 63 proposals, Aida Touma-Suleiman 45, and Walid Al-Huwashla 24.

Conversely, the report identified proposals harmful to equality, with Likud associated with 12, United Torah Judaism with six, and Otzma Yehudit with five. Equality-supporting proposals focused on combating violence against women (33.2%), equality in the job market (26%), and family rights (21%).

Hochman also addressed the challenges of Arab women's political participation, noting that 41% of Arab women consider politics a male domain, and their voting intention is lower than men's. She stressed that women's presence in politics is crucial for advancing issues affecting their daily lives. To aid voters, the Women's Lobby launched a "Voter's Guide" to review parties' legislative activity, the representation of women on electoral lists, and their platforms on equality and women's rights, without endorsing any specific party.