What Are The Characteristics Of Women From Switzerland?

Regarding attitudes on having and raising children, Switzerland can be fairly progressive. However, once a couple has started a family, men and women are no longer on equal footing when it comes to their tasks at home. In Switzerland, marriage is not considered a condition for having children. In reality, according to government figures, one-quarter of all infants in 2018 were born to unmarried parents. Also, about 15% of the 1.2 million households in Switzerland are managed by a single parent. Again, this is largely due to the Swiss’ lack of desire to comply with traditions. Switzerland has strong patriarchal traditions, which means that men are traditionally the primary providers of the household, while women are responsible for caring for the children and the home. Having said that, Swiss women have gained significant independence since the 1970s, when most women did not have a career and, if they did, only worked part-time. Women made up less than a third of the workforce back then; today, this proportion is 46%. Women in Switzerland typically continue to work after becoming mothers, albeit on a part-time basis. While women are becoming more involved in business, men continue to dominate the banking and financial professions.

Women also earn less money than men every year. Although, there’ve been several protests to have the government do something about it. Despite being a conservative country, getting married is losing favor in Switzerland. In fact, marriages have been progressively dropping throughout the years. According to Swiss Federal Statistical Office data, 38,200 couples married in 2019, a 6.2 percent decline from 2018. This is true of all marriages, including those between Swiss, foreign, and Swiss and non-Swiss couples. In Switzerland, civil unions between same-sex couples who do not have the right to marry are likewise declining. In 2019, over 650 same-sex couples entered one, a 7.9 percent decrease from 2018. On the other hand, there were 16,600 divorces in 2019, raising Switzerland’s divorce rate to over 40%.

Surprisingly, the bulk of divorces appears to be between foreign spouses, with the number of divorces increasing by 23.4 percent between 2017 and 2018. Even when a relationship develops into something serious, Swiss men and women appreciate their own space and freedom. As a result, they anticipate a mix of devotion and independence from the start. In fact, weeks may pass between dates, but this does not necessarily imply that they are uninterested; it is simply the norm. While dating multiple individuals at once is common in many countries, it is not common in Switzerland. People prefer to keep dates informal, meet for lunch or dinner, and avoid intimacy until they are certain they want to be in a relationship. And, because most individuals are honest, they will usually notify their spouses if they see other people. Similarly, they will make it known if they intend to form a relationship with someone. Keeping this in mind, getting physical normally indicates that you are in a serious relationship; however, this isn’t always the case.

Because the Swiss constitution delegated control for the school system primarily to the cantons, the education system in Switzerland is quite different compared to other countries. The Swiss constitution lays the groundwork, stating that primary school is compulsory for all children, free in public schools and that the confederation can administer or finance colleges. Except in Obwalden, where the minimum age is five years and three months, the minimum age for primary school is around six years. Following primary school, students are divided into groups based on their abilities and professional goals. Approximately 25% of all pupils attend lower and upper secondary schools, which often leads to the federally recognized matura or an academic Baccalaureate, which gives entry to all universities after 12 school years. The remaining students are divided into two or more school kinds, depending on the canton, with varying levels of theoretical and practical study. All children are required to attend school for at least nine years. In 1460, the first university in Switzerland was established in Basel, with a college of medicine.

In Switzerland, Basel has a long history of chemical and medical research. Switzerland has 12 universities, 10 of which are controlled by cantons, and two federal institutes of technology, ETHZ in Zurich and EPFL in Lausanne, which the State Secretariat manages for Education, Research, and Innovation. Furthermore, seven regional associations of Universities for Applied Sciences (Fachhochschulen) require vocational education and a particular Berufsmatura or a Fachmatura ( Fachmittelschule graduation) to study. Switzerland has a high proportion of international students in tertiary education, including one of the world’s highest proportions of Ph.D. students. Swiss scientists have received numerous Nobel Prizes. Nobel Prizes in science have recently been awarded to Vladimir Prelog, Heinrich Rohrer, Richard Ernst, Edmond Fischer, Rolf Zinkernagel, Didier Queloz, Michel Mayor, Kurt Wüthrich, and Jacques Dubochet. In total, 113 Nobel Prize recipients are associated with Switzerland, and the Nobel Peace Prize has been granted to organizations based in Switzerland nine times. Geneva is home to CERN, the world’s largest particle physics facility. Other significant research institutes in the ETH sector include the Empa and Paul Scherrer Institute.

While compulsory schooling in Switzerland lasts between 9 and 11 years, many aspects of the system differ by canton. Kindergarten typically lasts one to two years, primary school six years, and lower secondary three years. Ticino has a third, optional kindergarten year; primary school lasts five years, followed by four years of lower secondary school. Kindergarten and the first one or two years of schooling in several German-speaking cantons may be integrated into a Grundstufe or Basisstufe, where they are all taught together in the same class. Kindergarten and primary school are integrated into the French-speaking cantons (FR, GE, JU, NE, VD, VS) to form two four-year-long primary levels. Pre-school attendance is required in 17 cantons. Municipalities are required to provide at least one year of preschool programs in practically all cantons.

According to the Swiss Federal Statistical Office’s national survey, 61.2 percent of the resident population (aged fifteen years and older) in 2020 are Christians, of which 33.8 percent were Catholics, 21.8 percent were Swiss Protestants, and 5.6 percent were followers of other Christian denominations. Since 1980, when Christians constituted approximately 94 percent of the population, the proportion of unaffiliated Swiss residents has increased from approximately 4 percent to 31 percent of the population, and people practicing non-Christian religions have increased from approximately 1 percent to 7 percent of the population. According to church registries, 35.2 percent of the resident population in 2020 belonged to the country’s Catholic Church, while 23.3 percent belonged to the Protestant Church of Switzerland. The Gaulish (mostly Helvetians) and Germanic (mostly Alemans) ancestors of the modern Swiss adopted Christianity between the 4th and 5th centuries of late Roman dominance for the former and between the 6th and 7th centuries of Frankish dominance for the latter, abandoning their indigenous Gallo-Roman and Germanic paganism.

The Old Swiss Confederacy, which emerged in the 13th century, remained exclusively Catholic until the 16th century, when it became one of the centers of the Protestant Reformation, with the majority of Swiss joining the Calvinist Protestant movement. Conflicts, and sometimes civil conflicts, raged between Protestants and Catholics until the Sonderbund War in 1847 when Christians were granted legal freedom of conscience. However, legal discrimination against Jews and some restrictions on the Catholic Church remained until the late nineteenth century for the former and the end of the twentieth century for the latter. In the early twentieth century, Switzerland had an absolute majority of Protestants (about 60%) and a large population of Catholics (about 40%); since the late twentieth century and throughout the twenty-first century, the religious composition of the country has changed significantly, with an increase in the irreligious population, a sharp decline in Protestantism to about two-tenths of the population, and a less sharp decline in Catholicism to about three-tenths of the population.

Switzerland has no state religion; freedom of religion is a basic right, but most cantons (except for Geneva and Neuchâtel) recognize official churches (Landeskirchen), which are always Catholic and Swiss Protestant, and in some cantons also the Old Catholic Church and Jewish communities. These churches are supported by the taxation of their members. According to the Swiss Federal Statistical Office, there were considerable disparities in religious affiliations among Switzerland’s five most common ethnonational groupings between 2013 and 2017. Swiss nationals were mostly Christians (73%), evenly divided between Catholics (37%), Swiss Protestants (31%), and other Christians (5%); the vast majority of Italian and Portuguese nationals living in Switzerland were Catholics (77% and 74%, respectively); half of the German nationals in Switzerland were unaffiliated, with Christians accounting for 47%; and Frenchmen in Switzerland were mostly unaffiliated.

While the Swiss are not recognized for being the most romantic people, they take issues of the heart extremely seriously. Unlike women in other countries, Swiss women might be reticent and conservative; they like to take their time getting to know someone before fully opening themselves. When they commit to a relationship, though, they are usually in it for the long haul, which is good news if you seek something serious. However, with a decreasing marriage rate and a progressive change away from traditional ways of life, getting married may not be your future. After all, the Swiss prefer to do things their way, so they don’t feel compelled to yield to public pressure. You won’t be living in each other’s pockets once you’ve formally become a couple. This is because personal space is important in Switzerland, which is great if you value independence. You are also unlikely to feel any pressure to move things forward or settle down anytime soon, as Swiss ladies are generally laid-back and content with things moving at their own speed.

Women in Switzerland traditionally expect a guy to initiate contact. Although men are expected to make the first move in Switzerland, Swiss men aren’t popular for being particularly forthright when it comes to asking women out. Indeed, if you search any dating forums in Switzerland, you will almost certainly come across a flood of women complaining that guys don’t approach them. According to other accounts, this is not due to sloth or arrogance but rather to men being rejected so frequently by Swiss women. Indeed, some foreigners say that Swiss women might appear distant and reserved. As a result, if no one initiates contact, it may potentially devolve into a gazing contest before anyone musters the courage to initiate contact or openly declare mutual attraction. But once you pluck up the nerve, it’s usually well worth the wait. 

Because of the conservative mentality of Swiss men and women, people are far more comfortable going for a walk or participating in group activities before setting up an official date. The Swiss are known for their active lifestyle, so expect plenty of outdoor activities while getting to know them. Following that, you may expect common dates to include going to a restaurant or pub, meeting for coffee, or making a traditional Swiss dinner. It is critical to understand that timeliness is essential in Switzerland. In fact, being late for a date is a significant turn-off for both Swiss men and women, so come on time. It is even customary for Swiss people to arrive 15 minutes early to social functions. As a result, if you are being picked up, ensure you are prepared ahead of time because your date may come to your doorstep early.