On 14 June 1991, nearly 500,000 women went on strike in Switzerland to protest gender inequality. Since then women in Switzerland still are lagging economically, are responsible for much of the domestic “unpaid” work, and face sexual harassment and discrimination in the work place.
Women in Switzerland on an average make 20 percent less than men.
More than one in five women in Switzerland over 16 has been a victim of sexual assault.
In the Swiss Parliament, currently only 33 percent of Member of Parliaments and 15.2 percent of Senators are women.
A broad coalition consisting of Swiss trade unions including BWI affiliates, UNIA and Syna; women’s groups and civil society organizations are calling for a nation-wide Women’s Strike on 14 June 2019 to demand equal pay, gender equality, and respect.
The BWI is supporting the Women’s Strike and will join thousands of women who will stop whatever they are doing either in the work place or home at exactly 15:24 (in recognition of the male-female pay disparity) on the streets to demand gender equality.
In the words of the organizers, “We go on strike. A strike of paid workers. A strike of domestic workers, a strike of care workers, a strike of schools, a strike of consumption. So that our work is visible, so our demands are heard, so that the public space belong to all of us.”
The General Call for Women’s Strike is available here in English.
The Women’s Strike logo is available in English, Italian, French and German
What you can do:
If you are in Switzerland: join the strike by stopping whatever you are doing at 15:24. There are a series of meeting rallies and mobilizations being held in major cities throughout the country such as Bern, Biel, Basel, Lausanne, Geneva, and Zurich.
If you are outside Switzerland: support the strike by doing the following:
To show solidarity with the women in Switzerland, wear purple all day
Take a photo with the poster supporting the Women’s Strike and distribute it via social media including the BWI@Work facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pg/BWI.work
