Candidate Selection Methods and the Representation of Women in the Knesset, 1992–2021

ABSTRACT:In the course of three decades, the number of women elected to the Knesset nearly tripled from 7 in 1988, to 30 in 2021. The article analyzes changes in candidate selection methods and their effect on gender representation. Using a new dataset and a quantitative approach, we focus here on the 30 parties which competed in 12 general elections in Israel between 1992 and 2021 and the dependent variable that explains the proportion of female MKs elected from each party. Our analysis of methods in candidate selection while controlling for independent variables indicates that they have little effect on female representation. Other factors such as ideology and party affiliation are more relevant to the changes in the number of female MKs.