See also special areas

At a glance

Structure of Parliament: Bicameral

Are there legislated quotas...

  • No for the Single/Lower House?
  • No for the Upper House?
  • No at the Sub-national level?

Are there voluntary quotas...

  • Yes adopted by political parties?

Switzerland

(Swiss Confederation)

Single/Lower house

Bundesversammlung - Assemblée fédérale - Assemblea federale / Federal Assembly

Total seats:200
Total women:58
% women: 29%
Election year:2007
Electoral system:List PR
Quota type: Voluntary Political Party Quotas
Election details: IDEA Voter Turnout
IPU Parline

Sources | Additional information | Contact us

Last updated 2010-07-08

Voluntary Political Party Quotas*

PartyAcronymOfficial NameDetails, Quota provisions
Social Democratic Party of Switzerland SPS/PSS Sozialdemokratische Partei der Schweiz The party has a 40 percent quota for women on party lists.

* Only political parties represented in parliament are included. In case of legislated quotas, only political parties that have quotas beyond the national quota legislation are presented in this table.

Sources | Additional information | Contact us

Last updated 2009-11-30

Additional information

Constitutional quota regulations were proposed in 1996 and 2000, but not passed.

A federal popular initiative was proposed in 1996 to amend the constitution in order to promote "the equitable representation of women in federal bodies". The proposals included various provisions for the different federal authorities, the National Council, the Council of State, The Federal Council and the Federal Tribunal.

For the National Council, it was proposed that the difference between the number of women and men representing each canton could not be greater than one. For the Council of States, it was proposed that each canton elects two MPs, one women and one man. The Federal Council, composed of seven members, would have at least three women.
Last updated 2009-10-16

Sources

No sources available

Additional reading

Switzerland | Europe | Global

Know about useful additional reading for Switzerland? Tell us!