The Local Switzerland

Eleven numbers that tell the story of women in Switzerland today

Thu, 13 Jun 2019 22:20:45 +0200

February is the anniversary of women getting the right to vote in Switzerland, which happened in 1971. Here are 11 numbers which tell the story of women in Switzerland today.

Swiss think tank proposes several measures to strengthen gender equality in the economy

Tue, 16 Apr 2019 12:20:44 +0200

From paternity leave to more subsidized day-care centres or measures to reduce the gender pay gap, Zurich-based think tank Foraus argues in a new paper that the federal government must act across Switzerland to empower women in the workplace.

Swiss MPs say yes to women’s quotas at top levels in business

Fri, 15 Jun 2018 10:39:35 +0200

The introduction of quotas on the number of women serving in management and on the boards of large companies in Switzerland has come a step closer after the National Council voted – by a wafer-thin majority – to back the move.

Government to lift legal obstacles to registering gender change

Fri, 25 May 2018 10:35:27 +0200

Transgender people should be able to change their first name and gender easily without bureaucracy getting in the way, the Swiss government believes.

Three years in parliament and not one word: meet Switzerland’s most silent politician

Mon, 30 Apr 2018 15:15:47 +0200

Anyone who thinks the Swiss parliament simply exists as a mechanism to rubber stamp proposals need only to listen to Barbara Keller-Inhelder, an MP with Switzerland’s Swiss People’s Party.

Switzerland plunges down global gender ranking

Thu, 02 Nov 2017 08:36:40 +0100

Switzerland has dropped a whopping 10 places in the annual Global Gender Gap Report produced by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF).

Swiss women continue to shoulder the burden of unpaid work

Fri, 14 Jul 2017 14:08:18 +0200

Men in Switzerland are doing an increasing amount of domestic chores, according to a report from the Federal Statistics Office - but they still lag far behind their female counterparts.

Swiss cantons sign up to fight gender pay gap

Wed, 07 Sep 2016 14:03:09 +0200

Ten cantons have signed a new charter vowing to combat salary inequality between men and women in Switzerland.

Filmmakers hold open casting in Ticino

Mon, 13 Jul 2015 15:33:52 +0200

The Swiss-Canadian duo Florian Halbedl and Joshua M. Ferguson are holding an open casting for their new film project on July 17th in Locarno.

Davos 'boys' club' hears call for gender quotas

Sun, 26 Jan 2014 11:23:48 +0100

The World Economic Forum, where only 16 percent of the delegates this year are women, on Saturday heard impassioned arguments for gender quotas to boost female participation in the workplace.

Swiss allowed to choose family name

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 13:55:00 +0200

The Council of States has approved a new law allowing Swiss couples to have a free choice as to which of their surnames to adopt as a family name.

Swiss consider electronic tags for violent husbands

Tue, 31 May 2011 13:04:00 +0200

The Swiss parliament is considering forcing violent husbands to wear an electronic tag, allowing authorities to check they don’t go too close to their wives.

Swiss women earn 41 percent less than men

Fri, 27 May 2011 14:01:00 +0200

Women in Switzerland earn 41 percent less than men, according to the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions (SGB). Wage discrimination has even increased over the past few years, the group said on Friday.