According to a study commissioned by Pro FamiliaExternal link, women with university education have most to lose in financial terms. They spend an average of 6.7 years away from the workplace after the birth of their child. This can cost them on average CHF20,000 ($19,920) per year away or CHF470,000 over their working lives.
Most of the decrease in income is due to the loss of work experience. But the authors of the study do not rule out discrimination on account of maternal status, i.e. the employer assuming that women are more likely to be absent in the event of a child’s illness.
The authors of the study recommend increasing the number of out-of-home child care places by 30% to address this problem. The equivalent of 18,000 additional child care options would increase the average female labour force participation rate from 61% to 72%. The cost of this measure would amount to just under CHF500 million francs per year. The study’s authors claim that most of the cost would be borne by the parents. The remaining CHF166 million would be offset by the tax revenues of working mothers.
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Working mums are on the rise in Switzerland
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Twenty years ago, three out of five working women had children under the age of 25 at home; by 2015 it was four out of five. Whereas in 1995 39% of mums did not go out to work, the figure in 2015 was 20%. The Federal Statistical Office published the figures on Tuesday. One of…
Switzerland: home to the world’s most expensive crèches
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In 2014, Switzerland maintained its position as the number one destination for white-collar expatriate workers, but a study by HSBC bank exposed some major concerns raised by new arrivals. Heading the list was the exorbitant cost of childcare. International studies support the view: Switzerland easily tops the list of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development…
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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.