On 7 February 1971, Swiss women were granted the right to vote after a referendum on the subject. This weekend marks the 50-year anniversary. An early notable event in the fight for women’s suffrage in Switzerland was a demand to have the right included in a revision of Zurich’s cantonal constitution in 1863. However the […]
Swiss fact: some Swiss women had to wait until 1991 to vote
Women in the Swiss canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden had to wait until 1991 to vote in cantonal elections. Not all Swiss cantons were this slow. In Switzerland, voting takes place at three layers of government: commune (Gemeinde), canton (Kanton) and federal. Canton is arguably the most important – Switzerland’s 26 cantons are like states. The […]
Swiss fact: women were the majority in Switzerland’s cabinet from 2010 to 2012
In September 2010, Simonetta Sommaruga was elected to Switzerland’s seven member executive. She joined Micheline Calmy-Rey, Doris Leuthard and Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf along with three male members: Didier Burkhalter, Ueli Maurer and Johann Schneider-Ammann, creating the first female executive majority since the creation of the Federal Council in 1848. All four of these women have served as […]
