Appeal to rethink family model on Father's Day
Swiss organisations have called for fathers to play a greater role in family life and be given longer paternity leave.
The appeal by umbrella organisations for the rights of families and men came as Switzerland held its second national Father's Day on Sunday.
The men's and father's group Männer.ch and family organisations Pro Familia and Pro Juventute said it should be a day for reflecting on the role of fathers and current family models.
The organisations, campaigners for the first Father's Day in 2007, said fathers wanted to become more involved in family life but were hindered by traditions in which men worked and women stayed at home.
They added it was also important to consider the challenges men faced in reconciling their familial and professional lives.
The appeal follows the creation last month of a coalition comprising the trade union umbrella group Travail Suisse, the Swiss League of Catholic Women, Protestant Women in Switzerland and Männer.ch to campaign for new legislation offering men 20 days' paternity leave.
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.