Swiss Review 1/2021

Swiss Review / February 2021 / No.1 27 INTERVIEW: MARC LETTAU Some 44 women and 76 men represent the Swiss expatriate community in the “Parlia- ment of the Fifth Switzerland”, the CSA. The proportion of women is too low in your opinion. Yes, it is too low for the simple reason that women represent themajority of people in the “Fifth Switzerland”. Women account for 54 per cent of the 770,000 Swiss who live abroad. But it is more than just a question of per- centages. A council should reflect the community it represents as closely as possible. Proper female representa- tion also translates into a different way of going about things in terms of the political agenda, the culture of de- bate and identifying solutions for ex- ample. We are currently seeing this in Switzerland. The women’s strike and other initiatives are factors that resulted in more women being elected to the federal parliament in 2019.We can now see the substantive outcome. The National Council is made up of 42 per cent women. Women account for 36 per cent of people who sit on the CSA. Does the percentage of women in the CSA need to increase to over 40 per cent? Looking at it pragmatically, yes. It would be a great first step if we had 40 per cent women. And what would be the second step? The actual aim is 50 per cent or more, because again we want the CSA to re- flect the diverse Swiss expatriate com- munity as accurately as possible. By the way, this is not an end in itself. “It would be a great first step if we had 40 per cent women” Better representation of women is an objective shared by the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA). The elections to the Council of the Swiss Abroad (CSA) offer a tangible opportunity in this regard. What is OSA Director Ariane Rustichelli’s view on the matter? Diversity always enriches our lives and is one of the keys to better and more broadly based decision-making. Reflecting social diversity is not solely about ensuring better representation of women. Correct. We should not forget to en- gage with all age groups either. Basi- cally, we need to get young people more involved. Apart from appealing to voters, what else can the OSA do to ensure better female representation? We have to domore than just appeal to voters. Better female representation is necessary at all levels and in all deci- sion-making bodies. In particular, this applies to the Swiss associations and umbrella organisations that run the CSA election process in each region. If these bodies are also serious about im- proving female representation, the number of candidates will increase. And if more women stand for election, more women will be elected. In future, the OSA wants all Swiss Abroad in any given country to be able to participate in CSA elections, regardless of whether they are registered with a Swiss associa- tion or not. Would direct elections such as these help to further the female cause? Women’s chances increase if more of them can vote and stand for election. At least that is the theory. However, ex- perience shows that a change of sys- temon its own is not enough.We need an environment that encourages women. Women often still feel less empowered to stand for office. Per- haps they need fresh role models. This is all still hypothetical, because direct elections will not be taking place in 2021. This is true. The best direct elections are when everyone can vote online. However, the suspension of e-voting in Switzerland has set us back. No other government solutions are avail- able. Consequently, we are pinning our hopes on an alternative e-voting system. We have already evaluated it, but procuring and rolling it out takes time. Nevertheless, our efforts under- score how important introducing di- rect elections remains. Essentially, di- rect elections would provide the CSA with greater legitimacy and political leverage. A worldwide election Between January and June 2021, Swiss expa- triates around the world will vote to determine the composition of the Council of the Swiss Abroad (CSA), referred to as the “Parliament of the Fifth Switzerland”. The CSA has 140 dele- gates, of whom 120 represent Swiss communi- ties abroad and 20 live in Switzerland. Not all countries share the same procedure for elect- ing CSA delegates, so the vote will not be cen- trally coordinated. Everything you need to know about the elections will appear in your regional edition of “Swiss Review”, courtesy of the Swiss association or umbrella organisation in your area. (MUL) SwissCommunity OSA Director Ariane Rustichelli: “Better female rep- resentation is necessary at all levels and in all decision-making bodies.”