Switzerland’s first female cabinet minister blows out 80 candles
On October 24, 1984, Elisabeth Kopp became the first woman to be elected to the Swiss cabinet
Keystone
Elisabeth Kopp, who became Switzerland’s first-ever female cabinet minister in 1984, is celebrating her 80th birthday today. Despite an abrupt end to her political career when she was forced to resign, the Zurich politician from the Radical Party opened the way for other women to follow.
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Journalist and deputy head of the swissinfo.ch editorial group for German, French and Italian. Earlier, worked for Teletext and Switzerland’s French-language national broadcaster.
On December 7, 1983 – 12 years after Swiss women got the right to vote in federal elections – the left-wing Social Democratic Party tried to get the first female candidate elected to the cabinet. Zurich parliamentarian Lilian Uchtenhagen tried to succeed Willy Ritschard. But a majority of parliamentarians on the right preferred Otto Stich. That non-election led to a national debate on women’s participation in government.
Less than a year later on October 2, 1984, Zurich politician Elisabeth Kopp of the centre-right Radical Party finally broke through to be elected to the Swiss government. It was a historic moment: the first time that a woman had held a cabinet position in Switzerland.
But her political career took a dramatic turn in autumn 1988 when she found herself at the centre of one of Switzerland’s biggest political scandals after a telephone call she made. Following allegations that she tipped off her businessman husband about federal investigations into a company with which he was connected, she was forced to resign on January 12, 1989.
In November 1989, a parliamentary commission of enquiry criticised her for having breached rules on official secrecy and said her resignation was inevitable. The Federal Court later cleared her of the charges.
The return
She managed to return to public life, giving speeches and taking part in campaigns on various issues such as Switzerland’s move to join the United Nations and maternity health care. More recently she campaigned against the conservative right Swiss People’s Party’s initiative to deport foreign criminals.
Following her resignation, another four years would pass before another woman was elected to the cabinet: Ruth Dreifuss in 1993, Ruth Metzler (1999), Micheline Calmy-Rey (2002), Doris Leuthard (2006) and Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf (2007).
Simonetta Sommaruga became the next female cabinet minister on September 22, 2010 and for the first time the seven-member cabinet was dominated by women. It joined a unique group of countries which had taken a similar step (Finland, Norway, Spain and Cape Verde).
But that situation did not last for long when Micheline Calmy-Rey stepped down in 2011 and was replaced by Alain Berset. After the resignation of Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf in 2015, and her replacement by Ueli Maurer, today only two female cabinet ministers are in office: Doris Leuthard and Simonetta Sommaruga.
Translated from French by Simon Bradley
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An online campaign revealed that many women in Swiss parliament deal with everyday sexism. A study shows it's an issue around the world.
In Switzerland, an online campaign caused a firestorm on social media – and a swelling list of female politicians registering their reproach – after Andrea Giessbühler, a female parliamentarian from the conservative right Swiss People’s Party, said in an interview that certain punishments for rape should be lowered when naive victims are partially at fault.But the experiences of Swiss female parliamentarians, who were also reacting to the controversy over US presidential nominee Donald Trump’s comments about women, appear to be just the proverbial tip of the iceberg when placed in a global context.
A study released on Wednesday by the Geneva-based Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) showed more than 65% of women parliamentarians worldwide surveyed by the IPU reported being the victims of “humiliating sexist remarks” during their time in office. A quarter had been victims of physical violence because of their position in government, and 21% had experienced sexual violence. Another 32% had seen sexual violence committed against female colleagues.
Over the past few weeks, after Basel-based gender researcher Franziska Schutzbach and some of her colleagues began using the hashtag #SchweizerAufschrei, or “Swiss outcry”, on social media sites, people across Switzerland began offering everyday examples of sexism levelled against women.
Parliamentarian Min Li Marti of the left-wing Social Democrats chimed in with her own experience, saying she had been told by male colleagues that “this topic is just too complicated, maybe your husband can explain it to you”. (Marti’s husband, Balthasar Glättli, also serves in parliament).
Marti’s fellow Social Democrat Mattea Meyer tweeted about “parliamentary ‘colleagues’ who snicker and ask when there will be naked photos of you”.
Many other female parliamentarians from Switzerland told the Blick tabloid of their experiences with sexual harassment on the job.
Claudine Esseiva of the centre-right Radicals said she has been directly propositioned by male members of both the House and Senate. Social Democrat Yvonne Feri reported similar advances made by journalists who asked her whether she wanted to sleep with them.
And the speaker of the House of Representatives, Christa Markwalder of the Radicals, says she’s been the victim of “sexist statements at the lowest level”.
Threats and recommended action
According to the IPU study, the situation abroad appears to also involve threats of physical violence against women parliamentarians. Nearly 45% of those surveyed said they had been threatened with death, rape, beatings or abduction.
One politician from Asia reported receiving threats about kidnapping her son, while another from sub-Saharan Africa said she is constantly asked whether she is a lesbian and “accused of being aggressive and a bad mother”. Nearly 40% of respondents said the harassment affects their ability to carry out their parliamentary mandates, with some reporting having to adjust their schedules and physical movements to avoid potential violence and intimidation.
About 60% of the survey respondents believe the sexist acts are due to clear-cut positions they had taken on specific issues, and 61% think the acts are meant to dissuade them and their female colleagues from continuing in politics, according to the IPU. Only about 40% of respondents reported having been targeted because of a political rivalry.
To counter and address harassment against female politicians, the IPU recommends that governments strengthen laws and parliamentary codes of conduct and that the media undergo sensitivity training with regard to reporting on women politicians. The study concluded that having more women in parliament “helps to change the political culture” and that “once the phenomenon is visible and recognized, solutions either exist or can be found”.
The IPU, an international organisation representing parliaments around the world, interviewed 55 female politicians from 39 countries for its first study on sexism in parliament. It also gathered data from 42 global parliaments about structures in place to prevent sexual harassment and violence.
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