ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the institutional role and unique accomplishments of two bodies that appeared on the kibbutz scene, beginning in the 1980s, with the aim of promoting gender equality. They are the Section for Gender Equality and the Department for the Advancement of Women. The chapter also focuses on the process of co-optation at the time of the Section's founding and during its years of activity until its closure in 1992. It argues that despite all the predictions to the contrary, the kibbutz movement and its institutions remain a central and important body representing the kibbutzim before the state authorities. The Section's organizational weakness along with the onslaught of socioeconomic changes allowed the kibbutz establishment to suspend transferring monies to the Section as part of budget cuts, without arousing a significant reaction. The process of "democratizing the kibbutz democracy" needs to be accelerated, in particular by demanding guaranteed representation for women and promoting an Internet dialogue space.
