Still no gender equality
Despite improved legal protection, in practice Swiss women continue to suffer discrimination, according to the Federal Commission for Women's Issues (FCW), which celebrated its 30th anniversary on November 30th, 2006. Even if progress has been slow, the situation has evolved in the right direction since 1976, when the federal commission was set up: then, “a married Swiss woman still had to ask her husband's permission to work. Statistics on equal pay were not available and female victims of domestic violence were accorded little or no protection”. A comparative study, Global Gender Gap 2006, ranks Switzerland 25th out of 115 countries.
Attitudes are changing…
The principle of equal rights for women and men was enshrined in the Swiss constitution in 1981 and the Federal Law on Equality between Women and Men has been in force since 1996. Following a legal amendment in 2004 police are now allowed to prosecute cases of domestic abuse even without an official complaint from the victim. Switzerland ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1997, and on 29 November 2006, the government announced that it had decided to ratify its Optional Protocol too, which grants additional anti-discrimination protection.
…but much more needs to be done
“Gender inequalities requires much more than just laws - a fundamental change is needed in the mentality of Swiss society, among both men and women”, said Elisabeth Keller, head of the secretariat of the Federal Commission of Women's Issues. Domestic work, lower salaries, under-representation both in upper management and in politics but also domestic violence are main issues.
The Commission (FCW)
Founded in 1976, the Federal Commission for Women's Issues aims to achieve gender equality. Its representatives, appointed by the cabinet, come from women's organisations, social partners, the academic world and other professions. This extra-parliamentary commission monitors and comments on the situation of women in Switzerland and makes recommendations for the advancement of equal opportunities. It also gives its opinion on draft laws, and cooperates with the authorities, organisations and other interested parties.
Switzerland in the Gender Gap Index 2006
A lack of female participation in the economy and in politics is what ranks Switzerland behind South Africa and Jamaica, according to the comparative study released at the end of November 2006 by the World Ecomonic Forum in Geneva. Confirming the FCW’s conclusion, it says Switzerland was not inferior to these countries in absolute terms when it came to rights, quality of life, access to the health system and education. However, ten years after the law on equality came into force, women still earn on average 20% less than men in Switzerland. The gap is larger in the private sector than in the public one. In public administration the disparity in pay is 10%, in small companies 15.7%, in medium-sized ones 20.4% and in large ones 30.8%. The Gender Gap Index 2006 included for the first time 115 countries or 5 million people – 90% of the world's population. The evaluation criteria are based on United Nations data.
About Gender equality in Switzerland
- Long road to achieve gender equality
Swissinfo, 30 November 2006 - Homepage of the Federal Commission for Women's Issues
- Homepage of the Federal Office of the Gender Equality
- Male workers ponder part time working
Swissinfo, 19 November 2006
About Switzerland and the Global Gender Gap Index
- Swiss still far from closing the gap
Swissinfo, 26 November 2006 - The Global Gender Gap Report 2006 , and
Highlights of the study: country trends and regional performance (pdf, 5pp.)
World Economic Forum, in collaboration with Harvard University and the London Business School, November 2006
Update: 07.12.2006
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