Women are going on strike across Switzerland on Friday, demanding an end to an equality gap that is far wider than in many other western European countries.
“Wages, time, respect,” is the motto of the strike, organized to highlight the barriers women in Switzerland, particularly immigrant women, face on a daily basis.
Indeed, the Global Gender Gap Report issued by the World Economic Forum (WEF) places Switzerland at 20th in the world, not only far below the Scandinavian countries in the top spots, but also well under next-door France and Germany.
Friday’s protest comes 28 years after similar action saw half a million women take to the streets in 1991.
Swiss women have long campaigned to accelerate the pace of gender equality.