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

No Swiss bank in phase with environmental objectives

More

Swiss banks failing environment, says WWF

This content was published on None of the 15 major Swiss retail banks is meeting international climate and biodiversity targets, according to a ranking by WWF Switzerland.

Read more: Swiss banks failing environment, says WWF
UNRWA provides emergency assistance to just over one million Palestine refugees, or about 75 per cent of all Palestine refugees in Gaza, who lack the financial means to cover their basic food.

More

Lazzarini: no alternative to UNRWA in Gaza

This content was published on The only alternative to the UN Palestinian agency’s work in Gaza is to allow Israel to run services there, Philippe Lazzarini, UNRWA Commissioner-General, told reporters in Geneva on Monday.

Read more: Lazzarini: no alternative to UNRWA in Gaza

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