Switzerland

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In 2021, Switzerland adopted the first national strategy aimed specifically at promoting equality between women and men, the Equality Strategy 2030. One of the four pillars of the strategy focuses in particular on equal pay.

In Switzerland, the principle of equal pay for work of equal value for women and men is enshrined in the Federal Constitution and in particular in the Gender Equality Act. Under the revised law, since 2020, all employers with 100 or more employees are required to carry out an equal pay analysis and to have it audited by an independent body. They must then communicate the results to their employees and, where appropriate, to their shareholders. Employers who discovered problems in terms of wage inequality are required to correct them and carry out a new analysis within four years. 

To reach this goal, the Confederation has created a number of tools to support the public and private sector:

1.    The Charter for equal pay in the public sector, which provides for regular equal pay audits in the administrations and related entities of signatory cantons and communes, as well as in their public procurement and subsidy arrangements. Thanks to this initiative, a growing number of entities and companies are conducting equal pay audits. To date over half of all the cantons and all major local authorities have signed the charter along with the Federal Administration, thereby sending a strong signal to all employers in Switzerland. Moreover, checks are regularly conducted in public procurement since tenderers, which receive public contracts, are legally required to comply with equal pay. 
More recently, the Federal Council adopted a “Strategy for strengthening the Charter on equal pay” with a set of 18 measures, whose implementation help strengthen the Charter and Switzerland’s effort for equal pay in the public sector.

2.    Logib, a web tool, to help all employers make progress on pay equality. Logib Modules 1 and 2 enable both large and small companies to conduct objective analyses easily and free-of-charge, in order to identify and address gender-based inequalities. Both modules were recognized as EPIC good practice. 

The web tool has been enhanced with a new function, which enables employers to lay the foundations for systematic and comprehensible salary determination. With this tool, they can carry out an assessment of job functions according to their requirements and responsibilities and draw up a gender-neutral pay system. The aim is to further facilitate compliance with the constitutional requirement of equal pay for work of equal value. 
In addition, the federal government regularly conducts checks in public procurement contracts to ensure tenderers abide by the law. 

Thanks to its commitment to equal pay the Federal Office for Gender Equality (FOGE) has won the 2018 United Nations Public Service Award, which recognizes contributions made by public administrations towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

EPIC generates a positive dynamic in the field of pay equity throughout the whole economy. It enables the sharing of specific know-how and a framework for the exchange of experiences. It supports Switzerland in fulfilling its national and international commitments.

By sending a strong signal, EPIC can intensify the public discussion about equal pay and accelerate the spread of the measures taken, in Switzerland as well.

Equal pay – it’s a question of justice towards people and of fair competition between companies. At the national level as well as at the global level, the fight for economic empowerment of women and against wage inequality benefits the whole society.