One-third of Swiss Senate candidates are women

A tribute to Switzerland women's suffrage, Monday, August 17, 2020. Keystone / Peter Klaunzer

Of the 184 candidates around one third are women: these are the currently available candidatures for the elections to the Senate. The proportion of women and the total number of candidates are roughly the same as in 2019.

Around 34 % of the candidates are women, according to an evaluation by the Keystone-SDA news agency based on data from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). Canton Aargau with 70% and canton Fribourg with 57% have the highest proportions of women among the cantons.

In terms of parties, the Greens have the highest percentage of women candidates, namely 13 out of a total of 21. The Social Democratic Party also has more than half women. The Liberal Green Party has the same number of women as men.

+Why women made historic gains in the 2019 Swiss elections

The Radical-Liberal Party has around 30% women among its candidates and around 29% in The Centre. The Swiss People’s Party has 9.5%. The Social Democratic Party and Radical-Liberal Party have a clearly higher proportion of women than in 2019. The Swiss People’s Party, the Greens, the Liberal Green Party and the Centre have fewer women candidates in percentage terms.

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