The achievement of women’s suffrage is one of the most significant changes in the Swiss political system since the founding of the Confederation in 1848. On 7 February 1971, 65.7% of Swiss men voted in favour of women being allowed to vote. Until that day, half of the Swiss population could neither participate in votes or elections, nor stand for election or sign a referendum. Women fought for their rights for 100 years, and it took several parliamentary interventions and several popular votes to achieve this goal.

In autumn 1971, Swiss voters elected eleven women to the National Council and one woman to the Council of States. Since then, the proportion of women in the National Council has continued to grow: 12 seats in 1971, 95 in 2019. See also (webpage available in German, French and Italian):
La présence croissante des femmes au sein du parlament suisse

FURTHER LINKS

Webpages available in German, French and Italian

• Les 12 pionnières
• La parité, une question de justice et de démocratie. Marina Carobbio
• LA LUTTE POUR L’ÉGALITÉ TOUJOURS D’ACTUALITÉ
• VU DE SUISSE : BEIJING + 25 ET LE LONG CHEMIN VERS LA PARITÉ
• L’HISTOIRE (PRESQUE) SANS FIN DE L’ASSURANCE-MATERNITÉ
• ALLOCATION POUR PERTE DE GAIN POUR LES SOLDATS… ET LES JEUNES MÈRES