The Women's Strike of took place in Switzerland and involved over 500,000 women. Initiated by the Swiss Trade Union Federation (USS), this strike aimed to enforce the federal constitutional article on gender equality adopted ten years earlier on . The day of 14 June 1991 is generally seen as the catalyst for the legislative implementation of the aforementioned article, which occurred in 1996.
Ten years after the inclusion of gender equality in the Swiss Constitution, the general observation was that it was not being enforced, and wage equality had not been achieved.
Watchmakers from the Vallée de Joux were at the origin of the strike. The original idea is attributed to trade unionist , who discussed it with Christiane Brunner, then secretary of the Unia. Brunner succeeded in convincing the Swiss Trade Union Federation, which, despite opposition from some men, approved the initiative on and opted for a strike rather than a day of action. A national was formed in , followed by cantonal organizing groups.
The USS then organized the movement at the federal level to mark the anniversary of the inclusion of gender equality in the Federal Constitution following the popular vote on , to demand its concrete implementation:
The union initiative was joined by the new Frauenbefreiungsbewegung, the (Ofra), (Frap!), the Swiss Association for Women's Suffrage, the (Trotskyist), the Socialist Party (PS), the non-partisan committee for the realization of equal rights, and many women without political, union, or associative affiliations. Financial and material support was provided by trade unions.
At the cantonal level, organization was often decentralized and sometimes took the form of collectives, such as in the Canton of Geneva, where the â collectiveâ was formed in autumn 1990 and continued its actions after .
Some employers threatened retaliation and dismissal, arguing that the strike challenged the Swiss concept of .
The manifesto outlined nine demands for the strike:
The strike had significant repercussions in Switzerland. Nearly half a million women, or one in four, took to the streets to protest.
The strike was covered by Swiss and international media, with the Pravda, the official newspaper of the Communist Party in the USSR, dedicating an article to the event. The Soviet newspaperâÂÂs article, which expressed surprise at SwitzerlandâÂÂs lag in women's rights, was in turn quoted by the Swiss press, citing the following:
In French-speaking Switzerland, Valérie Hoffmeyer noted in the Journal de Genève in 1991 that in Geneva, beauticians and hairdressers were overlooked during the strike. On , the Gazette de Lausanne published a feature on gender inequality, addressing the lack of daycare facilities, the strike by women journalists at the Federal Palace, and the of 1975 during the International Women's Year, as well as the Rapport de la Commission nationale suisse pour l'Unesco sur la situation de la femme dans la famille L'Hebdo also published a double opinion piece on the topic.
In 1996, the constitutional article on equality was legislatively implemented, largely due to the strike of : the Gender Equality Act (LEg).
The day of 14 June has remained an emblematic day for the fight for women's rights in Switzerland, particularly around themes of equality. Every year, actions are organized on in favor of gender equality, especially regarding equal pay. On , another nationwide demonstration was organized to celebrate, among other things, the anniversary of this event.
In 2019, a reiteration of the strike took place across Switzerland, again bringing together over 500,000 women.