Equality

Switzerland has had a law establishing equality between men and women since 1981. The Federal Office for the Equality of Women and Men was established in 1988 and a law banning any form of discrimination, including at the workplace, has been in force since 1996.

However, Switzerland lags behind most Western European countries in many aspects of sex equality.

The "Gender Gap Index", a survey of 115 countries worldwide published by the World Economic Forum in 2006, put Switzerland in 25th position.

The top four places in the index were taken by Nordic countries; the UK was 9th and the US 22nd.