Switzerland among top 10 countries for promoting gender equality
Gender equality continues to be an uphill slog, but progress is being made.
Keystone / Laurent Gillieron
Gender equality is improving in Switzerland, according to a World Economic Forum (WEF) global ranking that saw the Alpine state move back into the top ten of best performing countries.
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Suíça entre os 10 principais países para a promoção da igualdade de gênero
Switzerland jumped eight places to number ten in the latest edition of WEF’s Global Gender Gap reportExternal link, which measures comparative opportunities offered to men and women in society.
The improvement was mainly driven by the increasing number of women elected into Switzerland’s parliament in 2019. But despite introducing new measures to improve equality in the workplace, Switzerland dropped marks for a lack of women in top management positions.
According to other recent studies on the Swiss workplace, women are being given more opportunities than in previous years. But progress is slow, particularly compared to Scandinavian countries.
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Iceland topped the WEF Gender Gap ranking once again this year, followed by Finland, Norway, New Zealand and Sweden.
The report authors warn that the coronavirus pandemic has put back some of the progress that has been made in recent years. Total gender equality is now estimated to need 135.6 years at the current rate, compared to 95 years forecast before the pandemic began.
This is because jobs that are mainly held by women have been worst affected by lockdowns than male dominated work positions.
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