Online and offline practices of ‘Everyday Feminism’: concrete substantive representation of women’s interests by municipal councilwomen

This study advances political representation theory by distinguishing between General and Concrete Substantive Representation, extending Pitkin's framework to capture specificity levels in representational practices. We introduce ‘Everyday Feminism’ as the practical manifestation of feminist principles in municipal governance, examining how councilwomen navigate between abstract ideals and tangible community needs. Using mixed-methods content analysis, we analyzed complementary representation spheres: ‘overt’ Facebook posts and ‘covert’ council meeting protocols from 32 Israeli councilwomen across 27 municipalities (October 2021-May 2022). The study identified six categories of women's interests and five action strategies. Findings reveal a digital-institutional divide: council meetings generate higher proportional engagement with women's issues (20%) than Facebook (11%) but focus almost exclusively on concrete interests (99% relative to 1% general). Facebook balances concrete local concerns (65%) with general advocacy (35%). Platform affordances fundamentally shape representational practices—council meetings prioritize actionable policy proposals within institutional constraints, while Facebook enables community mobilization. The gap between spaces reflects their different functions: council meetings manage logistics, while Facebook enables enacting change. Online representation adds another layer to local representation through mass-personal community contact, facilitating concrete assistance to individuals, groups, and local women.