Switzerland Today
Hello Swiss Abroad,
Important news for Swiss people around the world today: the Organisation of the Swiss Abroad has elected a new director.
My colleagues Emilie Ridard and Melanie Eichenberger will bring you more updates from the Swiss Abroad meeting in Bern – stay tuned for that tomorrow.
Meanwhile, a new survey reveals that financial worries remain the top concern for families in Switzerland, and the Trump administration’s influence is being felt by organisations and universities in Switzerland.
Sunny regards from Bern,
The Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA) has elected Lukas Weber as its new director.
During the selection process, the Basel native impressed the board with his fluency in German, French and English, as well as his “strategic vision for the digitalisation of communication,” the OSA announced in a press release yesterday.
Weber is an engineer with a doctorate from the federal technology institute ETH Zurich. His diverse career spans work in the parliamentary services in Bern, the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences, the Swiss Chemical Society and Zurich’s electricity company (ewz). In 2018, he joined the Blue Cross, where he was responsible for communications and fundraising on the executive board.
Weber succeeds Ariane Rustichelli, who is leaving the OSA after 17 years, including 11 as director.
While life satisfaction remains high, financial concerns continue to be the biggest worry for Swiss families, according to the “Swiss Family Barometer 2025” survey published today by Pro Familia and pension insurer Pax.
According to the survey, 72% of families expect their financial situation to worsen in the future. Nearly half of respondents said their income was barely enough to support their family, and 7% reported that it was not enough at all. Many identified high health insurance premiums and rising prices as their biggest concerns.
Nearly a third of families are also worried about work-life balance, and believe that more political action is needed to improve childcare and parental leave policies. Pension security is another key issue, with calls for better protection for part-time and low-income workers.
The report shows little change from previous years – financial strain remains the primary concern. Around 80% of families said they had cut back on holidays, dining out or leisure activities due to rising costs.
One concern has decreased compared to last year’s survey: worries about climate change, environmental protection and energy supply are now cited by just 5% of families, down from 17%.
Basel-based pharmaceutical company Roche is scaling back its diversity initiatives in response to a decree by US President Donald Trump, which bans workplace projects promoting equal opportunities.
In a letter sent to employees, Roche announced that its Chief Diversity Offices in Basel and the US will be renamed and reorganised.
Roche employs 26,000 people in the US, making it its largest workforce outside Switzerland. The pharmaceutical company generates half of its revenue in the US. Due to the importance of the US market, Roche has adapted its organisation around the world: “our global programmes and goals can have an impact on our US organisations if we are not compliant under the new law”, according to the memo sent out by Roche.
The company stated that its gender and cultural diversity targets will be scrapped. Previously, Roche’s aim was that 38% of leadership positions be held by women and its workforce be composed of 19% ethnic minorities. These goals will be replaced with a broader focus on “inclusion and belonging” rather than measurable targets. Swiss public broadcaster, SRF, writes that the company is essentially dismantling its diversity department.
Roche is not alone in making such changes. On Monday, UBS omitted all references to diversity, equity and inclusion in its 2024 sustainability and annual reports – a sharp contrast to the previous year, when the term appeared 21 times.
This highlights a growing trend in banks and corporations in Europe, which are increasingly adjusting policies in response to anti-diversity movements in the US, writes the Bloomberg news agency.
It’s not only multinational organisations in Switzerland that are feeling the influence of the Trump administration: Swiss universities are also impacted.
The US government has introduced austerity measures in the research sector, sending questionnaires to projects which it funds to ensure compliance with its policies.
These questionnaires ask whether projects touch on diversity, equity and inclusion – a move seen by some as an attempt to restrict academic freedom. Last week, we reported on Geneva-based organisations receiving such requests. A US-funded project at the federal technology institute ETH Zurich has also been contacted with the questionnaire, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) reports.
In an interview with Swiss public radio, RSI, Luciana Vaccaro, president of the umbrella organisation Swissuniversities, expressed concern. “Science is not a political party. It seems to me that this type of questionnaire has the intention of orientation and selection on the basis of elements that become restrictive for academic freedom. You can imagine that in medicine there are certain things that we can no longer search for – but we will never be able to find the useful medicine to fight a disease in this way.”
How Swiss universities intend to respond to the pressure from the US is currently being clarified internally at Swissuniversities, and a statement is expected next week.
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