Under the motto ‘Respect, time, money’, tens of thousands of women took part in a feminist strike in Switzerland on Monday. According to the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions (SGB), more than 300,000 women took to the streets across the country. Above all, they demonstrated for equal pay for equal work, but also against discrimination, harassment and sexual violence. Tens of thousands of women, often dressed in pink or purple, demonstrated in cities like Lausanne, Geneva and Bern.
Tens of thousands of women took part in a feminist strike in Switzerland on Monday under the motto “Respect, time, money”. According to the Swiss Federation of Trade Unions (SGB), more than 300,000 women took to the streets across the country. Above all, they demonstrated for equal pay for equal work, but also against discrimination, harassment and sexual violence.
In Zurich, around 300 demonstrators blocked the tram, as reported by the Schweiter news agency ATS. In Lausanne, the cathedral was illuminated in violet. In cities like Lausanne, Geneva and Bern, tens of thousands of women of all ages demonstrated, many dressed in pink or purple. Even in small towns, women took to the streets. There were loud cooking pot concerts, meetings and picnics in many places.
The first women’s strike was committed in 1991. Half a million women stopped working at the time and joined the protests. Ten years earlier, gender equality had been enshrined in the Swiss constitution. It was not until 2019 that a second attempt was made for a new protest day by women.
The recognition of women’s rights was a lengthy process in Switzerland. In 1971, it was one of the last countries in Europe to give women the right to vote. In the past three decades, however, women’s rights activists have made some progress. Abortion was legalized in 2002, and 14 weeks of paid maternity leave was introduced in 2005. There has been a two-week paternity leave since 2021. However, the restricted access to expensive day-care centers is considered the main obstacle to the integration of women into the labor market.