We often tell women who choose to enter politics that they are courageous, and rightly so. We should also consider the moment when a woman decides she wants to make decisions and take responsibility, even at the cost of hostile headlines or toxic political campaigns.
Before she reaches a senior position, is elected to the Knesset, Israel's parliament, or delivers a defining speech from its podium, she must do something both simple and difficult: believe that she belongs there.
On the eve of the election, it is especially important to say to the women who have chosen to run: Thank you for stepping forward. May many of you win seats in the next Knesset.
The numbers show how far we still have to go. Only 31 women serve in the outgoing 120-member Knesset, or about 26%. A March analysis by the Israel Democracy Institute ranked Israel 31st among the 38 countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development for women's parliamentary representation. While other countries have made progress, Israel's glass ceiling seems to have become a permanent fixture in the Knesset chamber.
A voice in budget decisions
The imbalance becomes clearer at the tables where budgets for defense, the economy, education, and social services are determined. Meaningful representation requires authority, responsibility, and the ability to shape policy.
At a January 28 meeting of the Knesset's Committee for the Advancement of the Status of Women and Gender Equality, a parliamentary researcher reported that most ministries' gender analyses of the proposed 2026 state budget focused on pay and staffing. Scrutiny of how spending on government programs affected women and men remained inadequate.
That failure can leave the needs of half the population out of the decision-making process. Behind the bureaucratic term "gender analysis" are decisions about who benefits from public spending.
Consider investment in public transportation. Were women's travel patterns taken into account alongside those of men? Or consider employment policy: Did the budget address the economic price women pay for caring for family members?
The women who enter the next Knesset, and I sincerely hope there will be far more than 31, must draw on their courage, experience, professional knowledge, and distinct worldviews. They should also ask the questions others may overlook.
A society that loses these diverse voices loses part of its ability to understand itself.
Keeping the door open
We need women with different worldviews who will engage in serious, sharp, and sometimes difficult disagreements. They must demand influence across the full range of policy while continuing to work together across party lines to combat violence against women, ensure equal opportunities, advance women into leadership, and protect women's safety and dignity throughout Israeli society.
There is another responsibility, unwritten in the Knesset's rules of procedure. Every woman who enters parliament will influence, consciously or otherwise, how girls and young women imagine their futures.
When they see a woman chairing a committee, leading a policy debate, facing criticism, or advancing a public initiative, they can more readily imagine themselves in that position.
We must keep the door open for the women who follow. They, too, deserve the opportunity to enter public life and the authority to help shape it.
The writer is chair of Emunah, the Religious Zionist Women's Movement.