The case

Switzerland has caught up in terms of equality – but there are still gaps in the realities of life between the sexes.

Source: NZZ, 13 June 2024

The commentary

The gaps in education, choice of career, income and family work are still considerable, facts illustrated by recently published data on gender equality in Switzerland. In terms of education, women have not only caught up, but overtaken men. Among 25 to 34-year-olds, 53 % of women and 50 % of men had a tertiary degree in 2022. In 2000, women with a tertiary degree still ranked well behind men at 17 %, with the proportion at that time being 34 %.

The recent data show that career choices have changed less; young women still prefer to choose traditional female professions and men male professions and it has been claimed that the fact that career aspirations are gender-specific has a lot to do with prosperity in Switzerland. Still, one labour market expert points out that the occupational mix has increased. Better education has been leading more women into well-paid or highly paid jobs, the prime example being medicine: There has been a massive feminisation here in the last 25 years.

There has also been a convergence in terms of employment. Thirty years ago, 66 % of women and 90 % of men were in employment. Today, at 77 %, significantly more women are employed; the proportion of men has fallen to 84 %. Nevertheless, egalitarian employment models in which both partners work either full-time or part-time are still rare. Among couples with children under the age of 12, this is only the case for just under a quarter. According to the latest data, the man rarely stays at home when a child is taken ill, and research shows a clear correlation with career development. In many industries, successful careers require 100 % commitment and full-time employment, which is hard to be reconciled with care work at home, or the situation quickly becomes conflict-ridden. According to the expert, it is probably also such conflicts between couples that make many parents, who wanted to live egalitarian lives, eventually slipping into the traditional division of roles.

 

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