The number of female councilors has increased significantly since the introduction of gender quotas for local elections in the Flemish Region of Belgium. However, a strong underrepresentation of women remains in the most important position in local politics: the mayoralty. Consequently, the underlying goal of the quota laws – equal representation of women and men in politics – has only been realized to a limited extent. In this article, we investigate which factors influence the inclusion or exclusion of women within three crucial stages of the recruitment process for mayors: 1) the composition of party-lists and the nomination of the first candidate on the list; 2) the acquirement of preferential votes; and 3) the appointment of the mayor. The findings of this study show that the position of first candidate on the list is crucial for the attainment of the mayoralty and that four out of five of these candidates are male. Hence, the nomination of the first candidate on this list constitutes an important exclusion mechanism in the recruitment of women as mayor.