The proportion of women in Swiss company boardrooms and management ranks continues to rise, according to an annual survey of the largest employers in both private and public sectors.
The share of management positions held by women increased from 10% in 2019 to 13% last year, says the latest edition of the Schilling ReportExternal link from executive headhunter Guido Schilling. Five of the biggest firms were led by a female CEOs in 2020 and this number is set to reach eight this year. Nearly a quarter of seats on supervisory boards of the top 100 firms in Switzerland are held by a woman.
An international comparative study by recruitment consultants Russell Reynolds published earlier this week also came to the conclusion that women held 13% of executive posts at top Swiss firms. However, the comparable figure is higher in neighbouring France, Germany and Italy. Scandinavian firms also employ a greater proportion of women in management ranks, up to 29.6% among companies on the Norwegian OBX stock market index.
The Schilling Report takes an upbeat view that the situation is improving in Switzerland. “If this momentum continues, the legally stipulated gender-balanced representation threshold of 20% women on executive boards should be reached by the end of 2030,” it states, referring to legislation passed by parliament in 2019. “Efforts are clearly required by the 42% of companies that do not have any women at their top management.”
Diversifying
The study also finds that women executives in Swiss companies are diversifying from traditional roles in human resources or legal departments into other areas, such as managing company finances.
In the past few years Swiss lawmakers have made efforts to improve gender equality in the workplace. In addition to setting management and boardroom quotas, larger firms are now obliged to publish the distribution of salaries among men and women.
The 16th edition of the Schilling Report surveyed the 119 largest private employers in Switzerland and examined jobs in the federal administration and all 26 cantons. This covered 891 executive board members, 841 supervisory board members, and 1,031 managers in the public sector.
Popular Stories
More
Climate adaptation
Why Switzerland is among the ten fastest-warming countries in the world
Train vs plane: would you take a direct train between London and Geneva?
Eurostar is planning to run direct trains from Britain to Germany and Switzerland from the early 2030s. Would you favour the train over the plane? If not, why not?
Prevention and tech could help save billions on Swiss healthcare costs, says Deloitte
This content was published on
By focusing on prevention and technology, it would be possible to reduce Switzerland's healthcare bill by CHF30 billion a year by 2040, according to Deloitte Switzerland.
Environment director warns of increasing climate-related risks in Switzerland
This content was published on
The director of the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) has warned of increasing climate-related risks in Switzerland in an interview with SonntagsBlick on Sunday.
Gotthard traffic queue hits 11km at start of holiday season
This content was published on
The start of the summer holidays saw a long traffic jam in front of the Gotthard tunnel on Saturday. Traffic jams between Erstfeld and Göschenen in canton Uri were up to 11 kilometres long early in the morning.
This content was published on
The water temperature of the Rhine River could rise by up to 4.2° degrees Celsius by the end of the century due to the warming planet, scientists warn.
This content was published on
The Federal Council wants to explore the possibilities of joining the European Union’s €800-billion rearmament programme without compromising Swiss neutrality.
Defence Minister Pfister stresses importance of Swiss mission in Balkans
This content was published on
During a visit to the Balkans region last week, Swiss Defence Minister Martin Pfister met Swisscoy peacekeeping troops in Kosovo.
Premiere for Swiss Air Force on French National Day
This content was published on
On July 14, the Swiss Air Force will take part in the traditional air parade in Paris to mark the French bank holidays with an F/A-18 fighter jet. This is a first for Switzerland.
Swiss launch competition for memorial to Nazi victims
This content was published on
The victims of Nazi Germany are to be commemorated on the Casinoterrasse in Bern. A competition will be held to determine what the site will look like.
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.
Read more
More
Parliament approves quotas for women on company boards
This content was published on
The Swiss parliament has approved a proposal calling for better representation of women at the top echelons of large publicly-traded companies.
Gender inequality persists in Swiss businesses and society
This content was published on
The government has set new targets to improve gender equality and it has taken note of a UN report on the elimination of discrimination against women.
Big firms required to publish gender pay gap in 2021
This content was published on
Large companies in Switzerland will have to analyse wages of men and women starting in 2020 and make the audited results available to staff in 2021.
This content was published on
Female representation on top management boards in Switzerland rose slightly last year, though the figures still lag behind other European countries.
Two-thirds of gender discrimination cases thrown out by Federal Court
This content was published on
A review of 81 judgements has found that more than two-thirds of gender discrimination appeals were rejected by Switzerland’s highest court.
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.