Switzerland is concentrating on equal pay, women’s economic independence, sexual and reproductive health rights, and the fight against sexism and abuse at this year’s UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) session.
The 65th CSW, which began on Monday in New York, is focused on women’s involvement in public decision-making and the reduction of violence against women. The Swiss delegation is headed by Home Affairs Minister Alain Berset, who is participating virtually. During this year’s negotiations on the agreed conclusions paper, the updated Women’s Human Rights app (W’sHR app) – produced by Switzerland – will be available.
“The coronavirus crisis has had a disproportionate impact on women, both in economic and social terms. Gains made in gender equality over the past few decades could be lost to this crisis. To prevent this from happening, the international community must make a firm commitment: every effort must be made to ensure that progress achieved over the past few years is not undone by the Covid-19 pandemic,” noted Switzerland’s Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) in a statementExternal link.
Two side activities are being held at the CSW by Switzerland, which has made gender equality a priority in both domestic and foreign policy. The gender pay gap will be addressed in partnership with the Equal Pay International Coalition; in addition, Switzerland is collaborating on longitudinal data collection with the Legislative Assembly of the Council of Europe in order to help address violence against women.
The Women, Peace, and Security agenda is another significant feature of this year’s CSW. Switzerland was one of the first countries to put the agenda into action with a National Action Plan in 2007. (NAP).
“This year’s main theme is also a priority area of Switzerland’s international development cooperation. The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) provides targeted support to encourage women’s participation, particularly in local planning and budgeting processes or in electoral processes (both as candidates and voters). In Benin, for example, the SDC has been involved in training and mentoring young women to redress their under-representation in decision-making and the resulting lack of regard for their needs and problems in public policy. In 2019, more than three quarters of the 294 participants reported that their confidence and self-esteem had increased. 75% have joined, and are now active members of, a political party; this result is testimony to how their ambition and leadership have grown,” reported the FDFA.
On a national level, the Swiss government’s 2030 gender equality agenda is expected to be implemented in the first half of 2021. The amended Gender Equality Act (GEA) went into effect last year. The GEA needs employers of more than 100 workers to perform an equal pay review, among other items. Women will be expected to make up at least 40% of management boards in government-affiliated companies by the end of 2023 at the latest.
