Tel Aviv Mandates Gender Equality in Theater Directing: 50% of Productions to Be Led by Women

At a recent press conference, Beit Lessin Theater CEO and artistic director Tzipi Pines announced a major shift in the theater’s upcoming 2025–26 season: half of the productions will be directed by women. The move follows a mandate from the Tel Aviv Municipality requiring theaters to reach gender parity in their directing teams, Haaretz reports.

“This began when the municipality informed me that 50 percent of the directors needed to be women,” said Pines. “At first, I told them we can't just choose women directors because they're women. I admit that even I… wasn't sufficiently aware that women have talent.”

Between 2000 and 2018, only 13% of Beit Lessin's productions were directed by women, according to data compiled by Tel Aviv University researcher Ronit Lerer-Shpak. The same percentage applied to Gesher Theater during that period. Gesher's current season, led by artistic director Lena Kreindlin, will include five of nine productions directed by women.

Tel Aviv’s four largest repertory theaters – Beit Lessin, Gesher, Habima, and the Cameri – have all committed to the new 50% directive for upcoming seasons. The initiative stems from the city’s Equal City plan, announced in 2021 as part of a broader gender equality framework launched by the Resilience and Social Equality Authority.

Giora Yahalom, head of the municipality's Culture and Arts Department, explained, “We set specific targets for each area, understanding that some changes take time. In culture, the problem of gender imbalance was especially striking.”

While municipal theaters such as Habima and the Cameri were governed by board resolutions, Beit Lessin and Gesher, which operate as city-funded nonprofits, were told they would face a 10% funding reduction if they did not comply. “We gave them a transitional period,” said Yahalom. “Within three seasons, they need to get to 50 percent women directors and playwrights.”

The Theater Creators' Forum, founded in 2018, played a key role in advocating for this policy. Director Tamar Keinan, one of the Forum’s founders, currently has six productions running at major Israeli theaters and emphasized the ongoing mindset shift. “It still feels like something new, like we're ‘letting’ women direct,” she said.

At Beit Lessin, Pines acknowledged that change wouldn’t have happened without the municipal directive. “With directors – no, it wouldn't have happened. I'm honest enough to admit that. It put a spotlight on the gap.”

Leadership positions remain male-dominated. Of the seven large or medium-sized theaters recognized by the Culture Ministry, only three currently have women in artistic leadership: Pines at Beit Lessin, Aya Kaplan at Be’er Sheva Theater, and Kreindlin at Gesher. Keinan added, “We’d love to hear more women’s voices in leadership and artistic direction… and for it to be standard that women also direct large-scale productions, like classics and musicals.”