when the Swiss get going..... ((tabs: diversity, inclusion, Switzerland, government))
Today is a historic day in Switzerland – just 40 years after women got the right to vote – 4 of the 7 Bundesrate (federal councillors of Switzerland) are now women! Not bad considering that women got the right to vote only 40 years ago! There will be much speculation regarding how fast this did move…..
While I am of course pleased, what is most important is that competent councillors have been elected and that is the case. The discussions over the last few weeks have however been very interesting. There was a certain concern that both open seats would have been filled by women giving a majority of 5 to 2 and that would not be good. I must admit I had difficulty following this discussion as for many many years the council has been a male bastion and that did not seem to be a problem. So how can we find it normal to have an all male council ‘rule’ a country where – as in most countries – women comprise 50% of the population.
In a world where the challenges are many – financial, demographic, etc, surely it is in the interest of every country to ensure that the government reflects the population and in doing so, understand and address the many challenges we face


