Israel's Minimum Female-Director Rule for Public Company Boards

Israel's Companies Law 5759-1999 requires every publicly traded company to have at least one director of the under-represented gender on its board, non-compliant firms can face fines or be barred from paying directors. It was one of the earliest binding board-gender rules in the world, alongside Norway's later and far stronger 40% quota (2003/2008).
A quarter-century of data shows the limits of a bare minimum. A 2024 survey of 110 Israeli public companies found 180 women serving as directors, but the share of female CEOs in the Israeli economy fell from 8.1% in 2018 to just 3.5% in 2023, and female board chairs fell from almost 15% to 5.6% over the same period, according to Deloitte's annual gender-in-management report. Women's representation is highest in finance (27%) and lowest in traditional industry.
In 2021 Israeli business bodies floated a voluntary target of 35% women on boards; the Union of Directors' own chief later said self-regulation had failed. The case is instructive precisely because it shows that a legally mandated floor, without deeper pipeline or leadership measures, can coexist with a declining share of women in the most senior corporate roles.

Read the full analysis: https://www.calcalistech.com/ctechnews/article/rtxf6qtgq