Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Historic female majority in Swiss cantonal parliament

Parliamentary candidate Florence Nater (centre) on voting day in Neuchâtel. 
Parliamentary candidate Florence Nater (centre) on voting day in Neuchâtel. Keystone / Jean-christophe Bott

For the first time in Swiss history, women make up the majority in a cantonal parliament. Voters in Neuchâtel have elected a local parliament compromising 58% women.

In 2013, the Neuchâtel parliament was made up of 23% women while in 2017 it was 34%. But after Sunday’s vote, female representation moved into a clear majority.

The achievement is all the more remarkable considering Switzerland’s slow progress towards women’s suffrage. Women were only allowed to vote at federal level in Switzerland from 1971, while the last canton resisted women’s suffrage until 1990.

Before the Neuchâtel vote the cantons of Basel City (42%, 2020), Zurich (40.6%, 2019) and Basel Country (40%, 2019) had returned the highest number of women in a cantonal parliament.

Political scientists Claude Longchamp told SWI swissinfo.ch that the Neuchâtel vote was inspired by political parties putting up a greater proportion of women candidates and a growing movement towards gender equality in all walks of life.

“This dynamic goes back to 2019, when the second women’s strike took place in Switzerland. Since then, discrimination in business, society and politics has increasingly become a public issue,” he said.

Neuchâtel, along with Vaud, was one of the first two cantons in Switzerland to introduce women’s suffrage at cantonal level in 1959.

Most Read
Swiss Abroad

Most Discussed

News

Swiss army seeks to buy German howitzers

More

Swiss army plans to buy German howitzers

This content was published on The Swiss army wants to purchase new German armoured howitzers to replace its existing artillery system which has been in operation for over 50 years.

Read more: Swiss army plans to buy German howitzers
US opinion polls show Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump virtually even ahead of the November 5 election.

More

Poll suggests Donald Trump has many fans in Switzerland

This content was published on Around a quarter of Swiss citizens would vote for Donald Trump if they had the chance, according to a recent poll. This percentage is higher than in many other European countries.

Read more: Poll suggests Donald Trump has many fans in Switzerland

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR