Work and Family: Women's Careers
Women form an excellent reserve of qualified workers for SMEs. The Confederation strongly encourages the employment of women.
In Switzerland, women are still under-represented in the company management. The Confederation strongly encourages the employment of women in positions of responsibility.
For business managers, the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) has designed the brochure “Women in Executive Positions: Keys to Success”. This collection of best practices gives examples of companies that have successfully increased their representation of women. The brochure is available in electronic format:
Women, a competitive advantage
Promoting the presence of women in positions of responsibility is not only possible but is an advantage for companies: based on several studies, these teams are shown to be more creative and productive, and they are better at meeting client expectations. Employing women has other advantages, specifically:
- Qualified Work Force. Women form a reserve of qualified labour that is still under-valued. In fact, they often receive an excellent level of training. For many years, female students have been in the majority at universities.
- Attractiveness as an Employer. A company that works for women enjoys a better image vis-à-vis potential employees.
- Maintaining Know-How. After establishing a family, many women wish to keep their job but work part-time. They tend to remain longer at the same company, meaning that the employer does not have to recruit new staff.
