On video: the meeting of the War Cabinet 08.02.24/
The Shiva events in October exacted and exact heavy prices in all areas of our lives, both at the national level and at the personal level.
Israel is in the midst of a difficult, complex and scarring war, and we are witnessing during the last few months the flow of stories of heroism, wisdom, strength, courage and resourcefulness, of many women - leaders, initiators and inspiring and hopeful.
However, despite the women's part in the war, both as combatants and as those who take part in civilian operations, the decision-making table consists mainly of male senior echelons.
For example, all the members of the limited war cabinet are men and in the political-security cabinet there is only one woman out of 14 members.
Even in the press conferences held frequently during the war, the heads of the editorial board - the "responsible adults" - stand before the public without female representation.
And as a mirror image, even in the business sector in Israel we are faced with a bleak gender picture.
As you go up the management hierarchy, the percentage of women decreases, including on the boards and management of public companies.
In fact, the Shiva events in October put a spotlight on a historical and ongoing problem of the underrepresentation of women in senior management positions, and emphasized to us the importance of increasing the representation of women in proportion to their proportion in the population.
Proper female representation that allows women to take an active and meaningful part in shaping a better future for the country, including for the country's economy, by way of integrating a wider range of opinions, perceptions and values, is expected to lead to more appropriate decisions, based on a wide range of opinions.
Attorney Sharon Drori Wichelevsky/Yoram Reshef
Women at the decision-making table
We are of the opinion that today more than ever it is appropriate and right for women to have proper representation at the decision-making tables.
Today, when Israeli society is mobilized in all its glory for everything necessary for fighting, it is time for soul-searching, for rethinking and for understanding and internalizing that gender diversity (even at the highest level in the country), is necessary in the business aspect and in general, for the purpose of building a more developed country, a stronger economy, breaking boundaries, and a society Revised to allow a better future for our children.
Moreover, many studies indicate the contribution of an adequate gender balance and its importance to the independence of the board of directors and the quality of its work, as well as to the company's performance.
The existence of diversity and a variety of opinions, which is typical in diverse groups, allows the breaking of mental fixation ("conception") and the creation of new perspectives, thus leading to better results.
And as proof, the market data points to a direct relationship between gender diversity and the profit line of companies.
These conclusions even formed a basis in various countries around the world for determining measures to promote gender balance in the boards of public companies.
An indication of this can be obtained from the index "Israel Female Leadership Index", which includes shares of Israeli companies that are traded on the stock exchange in Israel and whose percentage of female representation on the board of directors does not fall below the threshold of 35%.
In this regard, it should be noted that the Securities Authority aims for women to make up more than 35% of the board of directors of at least half of the listed corporations by 2028.
This is even expressed in increasing voices encouraging the publication of an annual corporate responsibility report, which includes, among other things, disclosure about the representation of women on the board of directors, as well as giving different weight in the various stock market indices, to companies with adequate female representation on the board of directors.
More in Walla!
KKL-Junk encourages climate studies through scholarships for young students
In collaboration with KKL-Junk
Adv. Gil Churchi/Yoram Reshef
What about minimal gender representation?
Against this background, the question arises why there is no legal obligation for a minimum number of women on the board of directors?
Admittedly, the Companies Law (including recommended corporate governance provisions regarding board diversity) requires a minimum gender representation of at least one woman on the boards of listed corporations;
But this, only subject to the established conditions, when this minimum requirement is not affected at all by the total number of board members.
In addition, as part of the banking supervision policy to strengthen the aspects of contribution to the environment, social responsibility and corporate governance of the banking system, the great importance of the value of gender equality reflecting the composition of the population and society was noted.
In light of this, in January 2022, the Supervisor of Banks published an instruction according to which the composition of the board of directors will provide adequate representation for both sexes, and that for this purpose, the board of directors of a banking corporation must determine a policy for the degree of gender diversity in it, including a time frame for achieving the goal and milestones.
In this regard, it was determined that the banking corporations must achieve the target set as stated in the policy, within three years from the date of approval of the policy.
Soldiers in Gaza.
Stories of heroism and strength/image processing, Tal Shalov
Support the increase of female representation on the board of directors
We therefore see that the supervisor of banks also refrains from requiring a minimum number, and imposes this obligation on the board of directors.
At the same time, the supervisor's position leads to the fact that by the middle of 2025 changes are expected in the composition of the board of directors of banking corporations, by way of integrating more women as directors.
In this way, a window of opportunity will be opened for women who wish to serve as directors in banking corporations.
At this point it is worth mentioning that in recent years, institutional bodies have been adopting a voting policy in the general meetings that supports increasing the representation rate of women on the board of directors.
In light of this, we are witnessing an improvement trend (although not sufficient), over the years, in the proportion of women on the boards of stock exchange corporations, including banking corporations in Israel.
Today, approximately 31% of the board members of the five largest banks in Israel are women, compared to approximately 22%, in March 2021. The hope is that an increase in the proportion of women among the board members in the banking corporations will also increase the chance of a woman being appointed as the chairman of the board of a banking corporation in the future. (Today, all the five largest banks in Israel have a man as chairman of the board).
Although we see over the years a trend of improvement in the proportion of women in Israel in senior positions in the Israeli economy, it is important to note that Israeli society is still underrepresented by women, and that even today, in 2024, there are areas where women's voices are hardly heard.
Attorney Drori Wichelevsky is a partner in the banking department at the firm Wexler Bergman & Co. Attorney Charzi is a partner in the firm's corporate and capital market department.
More on the same topic:
business
women
representation of women
Board of Directors
International Women's Day