Historic female majority in Swiss cantonal parliament
Parliamentary candidate Florence Nater (centre) on voting day in Neuchâtel.
Keystone / Jean-christophe Bott
For the first time in Swiss history, women make up the majority in a cantonal parliament. Voters in Neuchâtel have elected a local parliament compromising 58% women.
This content was published on
1 minute
swissinfo.ch/mga
العربية
ar
أغلبية نسائية تاريخية في برلمان أحد الكانتونات السويسرية
In 2013, the Neuchâtel parliament was made up of 23% women while in 2017 it was 34%. But after Sunday’s vote, female representation moved into a clear majority.
Before the Neuchâtel vote the cantons of Basel City (42%, 2020), Zurich (40.6%, 2019) and Basel Country (40%, 2019) had returned the highest number of women in a cantonal parliament.
Political scientists Claude Longchamp told SWI swissinfo.ch that the Neuchâtel vote was inspired by political parties putting up a greater proportion of women candidates and a growing movement towards gender equality in all walks of life.
“This dynamic goes back to 2019, when the second women’s strike took place in Switzerland. Since then, discrimination in business, society and politics has increasingly become a public issue,” he said.
Neuchâtel, along with Vaud, was one of the first two cantons in Switzerland to introduce women’s suffrage at cantonal level in 1959.
More
The long road to women’s suffrage in Switzerland
Swiss women had to wait until 1971 until they got the right to vote. Why did it take so long?
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?
Swiss price watchdog negotiates lower fees for card payments
This content was published on
Small businesses in Switzerland will have to pay fewer fees for cashless payments from customers over the next few years.
Lakes in Central Switzerland have best water quality for bathing
This content was published on
Anyone who swims in a lake in Central Switzerland need have no fear of infection from intestinal bacteria. The water samples taken at 65 bathing sites in 13 lakes all have good to excellent bathing water quality.
This content was published on
Unknown assailants have stolen a historic ring from a Basel museum. The stolen item was a gift from Russian Tsar Alexander I to his host in Basel in 1814.
More May hotel guests in Basel than at any time in past 90 years
This content was published on
Basel hotels recorded 150,854 overnight stays for the Eurovision Song Contest in May. This corresponds to a year-on-year increase of 8.4%.
Demand remains high for rental flats in Switzerland
This content was published on
More rental flats are once again being advertised on property portals in Switzerland. However, demand also remains very high.
One in five Europeans exposed to too much traffic noise
This content was published on
More than one in five Europeans are exposed to unhealthily high levels of traffic noise, according to the European Environment Agency (EEA).
New living space through densification often comes at expense of the poor
This content was published on
If demolition and new construction are carried out and tenants have to make way, low-income households are affected more often than average.
This content was published on
The ceasefire in the Iran-Israel war has visibly eased tensions on the financial markets. The SMI, Switzerland's leading stock market index, has risen above the 12,000 point mark again.
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
How women’s suffrage in Switzerland changed the world
This content was published on
Although women's suffrage was only achieved 50 years ago in Switzerland, the country has become a global champion of equal rights abroad.
How the global battle for female suffrage influenced Switzerland
This content was published on
The risk of international reputational damage was another factor that brought an end to the Swiss resistance to giving women the vote 50 years ago.
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.