A recent survey by the Federal Statistical Office shows the overall median pay gap in Switzerland’s private sector shrunk to 12% in 2016, down from 12.5% in 2014 and 15.6% in 2010. In 2016, median pay for women was CHF 6,011 francs a month and median pay for men was CHF 6,830. The gap rose […]
Question of the week: why is equality often automatically deemed fair?
On the surface universal equality might seem fair. However, detailed analysis can sometimes reveal examples where forcing equality would be unfair. One study, that looked at gender bias in the hiring of US university faculty in mathematical (STEM) subjects, revealed such an example. 70% of the STEM jobs in the study were held by men. However, […]
Poll shows majority now against the vote to put a freeze on construction land
If next week’s vote had taken place on 19 January 2019 it would have failed suggests a poll run by Swiss broadcaster SSR. A similar poll in December 2018 show a majority in favour of the plan. The latest poll shows that only 47% are certain or fairly certain to vote in favour while around […]
Switzerland 3rd in corruption perception index
Every year, the NGO Transparency International ranks nations based on perceived corruption, with the least corrupt at the top. 100 is a perfect score and zero the worst. This year, Denmark (88) and New Zealand (87) came first and second. Switzerland (85), Finland (85), Singapore (85) and Sweden (85) were third equal. At the bottom […]
Sharp increase in judicial deportation of foreign criminals in Geneva in 2018
Last year, the canton’s court ruled that 439 foreign criminals could be deported, according to the newspaper 20 Minutes. In 2017 the number was 283, 64% of the number in 2018. In addition, the percentage of cases resulting in a deportation ruling went from 49% to 59% between 2017 and 2018. Deporting foreign criminals – […]
Rejected Swiss citizenship applicants withdraw appeal
A couple who refused to the shake hands with those interviewing them during their citizenship application, has withdrawn their appeal challenging its rejection, according to the newspaper Le Matin. Pierre-Antoine Hildbrand, a local politician who interviewed the couple last spring told Keystone-ATS that the couple’s application was rejected by a majority of the municipality of […]
Swiss roofs could produce over 80% of the nation’s electricity
Information combining maps from Swisstopo with weather data from Swiss Meteo shows that if all the roofs of Switzerland’s buildings were fully equipped with solar panels they’d produce 50 tWh of electricity a year, around 83% of the 60 tWh of electricity consumed annually, according to the Swiss Federal Office of Energy. Combined with Switzerland’s […]
Religion declines further in Switzerland
Statistics for 2017 show that 26% of Switzerland’s residents have no religion. As recently as 1960 the same figure was less than 1%. In 2016, the same figure was 25%. The percentage with no faith shows significant regional variations. While only 20% of Italian speakers have no religion, 25% in German-speaking Switzerland and 31% in […]
Nearly half of Swiss admit to stealing
Either at work, at a restaurant, on public transport or in a shop, nearly half of Swiss admit to stealing, according to a survey by moneyland.ch 49% of the 1,500 questioned in the survey admitted to pocketing something without paying. Young people admitted to being the most light fingered. Around a fifth of those aged […]
Question of the week: why is there so much anger in politics?
There are plenty of challenges in today’s world. But measured objectively, humanity is in decent shape – globally there’s less poverty and average life expectancy has never been higher. Yet more and more we seem to be at each others’ throats. Why? One explanation is a shift in media and advertising. Deprived of highly priced […]
