Swiss Review 3/2019

Swiss Review / May 2019 / No.3 19 zerland. Five years after the strike, parliament approved the Gender Equality Act. Reforms to the compul- soryOld-Age and Survivors Insurance scheme had a positive impact onwom- en’s pension situation. Switzerland also introduced amaternity insurance in 2005. Following the 2015 elections, women accounted for more than 30 per cent of parliamentary seats for the first time. This figure was 14 per cent back in 1991. Some progress has in- deed been made, but not nearly enough, according to the organisers of the second women’s strike scheduled for 14 June this year. Regional committees It will be a nationwide strike again, but with a local touch. Regional strike committees have formed around the country. InBerne, for example, Samira Schmid and at least a hundred other women are preparing for the big day. “This strike is overdue,” says the 30-year-old. When Switzerland’s women downed their tools in 1991, Schmid was still a small child living with her expatriate parents in Spain. She returned to Switzerland later, studied social work and became a mother of two children. “I only know about the first women’s strike from other people’s accounts, which I listen to with great interest.” Schmidwas born at the end of the 1980s. For a long time, feminismnever really crossed her mind. She says she had all the opportunities she could have wanted. “I never thought I had fewer chances thanmen.” However, as a working mother she noticed how hard it still is to combine family and career. “Becoming a mother was a big turning point in my life.” In addition, Schmid realised how little her experi- ence of housework and bringing up children counted for in the world of work. “The caring side of things doesn’t count for anything.” As a so- cial worker who also looks after women living in precarious situations, she sees the “impact of austerity poli- cies” at first hand. Continued gender pay gap The new women’s strike in Switzer- land is just the latest in a series of fe- male protests seen elsewhere of late – from the Women’s March in the USA and in a number of European coun- tries following the election of Presi- dent Trump, to the Spanish women’s strike in March 2018 and the global #MeToo movement against sexual harassment, discrimination and vio- lence against women. The Swiss strike manifesto also makes reference to protecting female migrants and the rights of the LGBT community. A lot has changed in the last 30 years. How- ever, the strike’s other demands are remarkably similar to those of 1991. They include wage equality, putting a stop to low pay in female-dominated professions, and a national strategy on combating violence against women. Almost 30 years since the first women’s strike, official statistics pro- vide a sober appraisal of howprogress towards gender equality has stalled in Switzerland. The gap between men’s and women’s pay may have become smaller, but it remains 20 per cent in the private sector. Women do almost two thirds of all full-time jobs that pay gross monthly wages below 4,000 Swiss francs. Female executives are a rarity at Swiss companies. Women still providemost unpaid care – this is indispensable in itself, but continues to be of little remunerative value. And crime statistics show that there are 50 cases of domestic violence in Switzer- land every day, with one fatality every two weeks.. Ideological support Alliance F, amajor cross-party alliance of Swiss women’s organisations, has given the strike its “ideological sup- port”. Some female politicians from the parties on the centre-right are keeping their distance. Doris Fiala, FDP National Councillor for the can- ton of Zurich, told the “Tages-An- zeiger” newspaper that she promotes women’s rights all year round and that a strike seems “outdated” to her in this day and age. However, Berne strike or- ganiser Samira Schmid feels it is vital that women stick together: “Whatever our differences, some issues affect all of us.” We will soon see whether the strike is as popular as it was in 1991. In an interesting article for themagazine “NZZ Geschichte”, Swiss historian Bri- gitte Studer made the point that 1991 harked back to pre-trade-union days and had a festive, communal dimen- sion. “When societal factors are re- sponsible for the gender gap, women will only be heard if they act in politi- cal unison.” For Studer, the first wom- en’s strike was an emphatic case in point. Colourful protests in Zurich (1991) – violet inspiration for this year’s women’s strike Photo: Keystone www.frauenstreik2019.ch