According to the Swiss Earnings Structure Survey (2020), the current wage gap is 13.8%. The wage gap is illegal and goes directly against the Equal Pay Act laid down in the Federal Constitution.
The date of Equal Pay Day changes from year to year, since it illustrates the current wage gap. If a man receives his salary starting from 1 January, 2024, a woman must work for 13.8% of the year for free until she also starts receiving her salary... i.e. until 17 February, 2024.
As we do every year, we are once again focusing on a specific topic:
In 2024, several votes will be taking place that will have an impact on our pensions. In particular, the vote on the occupational pension reform affects us women.
The gender pension gap is currently 32.8% (source: Federal Statistical Office) and is, among other things, a direct result of wage discrimination against women. Other structural disadvantages for women in the world of work also contribute to this. These include a lack of and expensive external childcare services, a lack of parental leave, and conservative gender roles. This is particularly evident when it comes to occupational pension schemes, where the gender pension gap is the largest at 63%.
It is still women who do the largest proportion of care work and, as a result, also work mostly part-time. In addition, it is mainly jobs that involve so-called "women's work" that are affected by generally low wages. These circumstances influence occupational pension schemes, in part because the earnings threshold and coordination deduction further reduce these pensions. The reform of occupational pension schemes is intended to mitigate these effects.
We all have to work together to eliminate structural disadvantages by influencing politics, changing our gender roles in society, and making our decisions carefully, because these also influence how we will live in old age. Unfortunately, young women in particular are often not aware that they are setting the course at the latest when starting a family, with the (partial) withdrawal from working life this often entails.
What we ourselves can do to improve our situation?
Our career choices and the decision to work part-time are also in our hands. Alliance F illustrates how these and other life decisions influence our salary, our career opportunities, and our pensions with its new cash or crash tool that lets you calculate the impact of your decisions.
The public sector should set an example in encouraging equal pay. In signing the Charter, which was launched in 2016, public authorities – in their role as employers, subsidy-providers and procurers of services – encourage the implementation of equal pay in their areas of influence. Since November 2019 it has also been possible for state-associated organisations to sign up to the Charter. The joint commitment is intended to send a signal to public and private employees.
Further information
Alain Berset, Conseiller fédéral, Chef du Département fédéral de l'intérieur DFI
