Switzerland

The average Swiss parliament member is male, well-educated and 50 years old. This year’s elections have accentuated an already existing trend.

“The 2023 elections have resulted in less diversity,” says Daniel Höhmann, a political scientist at the University of Basel. “This is a step backwards in terms of the representation of the different segments of the Swiss population.”

At the last federal elections in 2019, the share of women candidates elected to the 200-seat House of Representatives surged by 10 percentage points to 42%.

This year the proportion slipped back to 38.5% and 77 seats, as the Federal Statistical Office said on Monday following the October 22 election. Final complete results for the 46-seat Senate are due by November 19.

Women in Swiss parliament are now allowed to show their shoulders and arms after the Council of States relaxed its clothing regulations for women.

Hans Stöckli, current president of the house, announced at 3:15pm on Tuesday “shoulder-free is now possible”. Stöckli said he considered the ban to be “antiquated”.

In Switzerland, female voters outnumber their male counterparts by 10%. Yet women remain a minority in cantonal and federal politics. Here’s a look at some of the reasons for this discrepancy.

The Swiss will elect a new parliament this October. Never before have so many women run for a seat in the House of Representatives. However, it is very likely that men will once again dominate the newly elected parliament.

With the possibility that the UN could, for the first time in its history, appoint a woman as Secretary General, this year’s Women’s Rights Day on 16 June at the 32nd session of the Human Rights Council is a significant chance to demonstrate that, when it comes to gender equality, everyone has a part to