Diversity and equality ‘under threat’: ex-Swiss minister

Former Federal Councillor Sommaruga: 'There is a political backlash' Keystone-SDA

Dismantling diversity programmes is a backwards step for equality, warns former Swiss government minister Simonetta Sommaruga.

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The political backlash has started in the United States and could affect other countries, including Switzerland, she told the Tamedia newspapers.

Sommaruga observes with concern that there are more and more people in politics who not only want to stop the wheel of equality, but to turn it back. This development centres on men who suffer from fear of loss and are falling back on old role models instead of dealing with social changes.

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Sommaruga also commented on the inadequate implementation of the equal pay analysis. The fact that more than half of companies do not comply with the legal obligation to carry out an analysis is “alarming”.

“In a constitutional state, you expect people to comply with the law, even if they are not enthusiastic about it,” she said.

She rejected criticism that the law was a “paper tiger”. The analyses were less costly than feared and the federal government was making the instrument available free of charge. The constitution has stated for over 40 years that women and men must earn the same amount for work of equal value. “This constitutional mandate has still not been implemented. That is the scandal,” Sommaruga said.

Devaluation of women

Wage discrimination is an expression of deeper social problems “If women receive less pay simply because they are women, then this is ultimately a devaluation of the female gender.” This assumption is also a breeding ground for violence against women. Since the beginning of the year, a woman has been killed by her partner or a male family member every week. “That’s madness,” the former Federal Councillor said.

Sommaruga also commented on the current and future composition of the Federal Council. She regrets that the proportion of women has fallen. “In the last 175 years, four women and three men have governed for a single year. A single year!” If it had been the other way around for years, there would hardly have been any talk of anything else. Five men in the Federal Council, on the other hand, is “shrugged off”.

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Translated from German by DeepL/mga

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