Around ten years ago, Basel introduced requirements for boards of directors of state-owned companies. An assessment.
For around ten years now, the boards of directors of state-owned companies in Basel-Stadt have had to be made up of at least one third women and one third men. In 2014, 57 percent of the Basel electorate said yes to this gender quota. Basel-Stadt was the first canton to have such a requirement. And it has remained so to this day.
Now it is clear in Basel that the quotas are having an effect. Ten years ago, an average of around 17 percent of the boards of directors of state-run companies such as the cantonal bank or university hospital were women, but today that figure is almost half. That is more than is legally required.
Conversation culture is changing
With the higher proportion of women, the culture of conversation within the committees has also changed. “The way people communicate is different. You get to speak more as a woman and can sometimes express yourself in a different language,” says Monika Naef, who sits on the board of directors of Industriellen Werke Basel (IWB).
Caption: Monika Naef, Board Member of Industrielle Werke Basel: “The communication behaviour is different.” zvg/IWB
And IWB board colleague Regula Dietrich emphasises: “It is important that different perspectives are brought into discussions.”
Caption: Regula Dietrich, Board Member of Industriellen Werke Basel: “It is important that different perspectives are brought into discussions.” zvg/IWB
The IWB is considered a model example in Basel-Stadt when it comes to the proportion of women on the board of directors. Here, women are now in the majority on the board of directors at 60 percent.
But it is not just the IWB, the canton as a whole has made progress in the area of promoting women, confirms Eveline Sturm, co-head of the canton’s equal opportunities department. This is also having an impact on private companies, where the proportion of women is also increasing.
Caption: Model company Industrielle Werke Basel: Here, the proportion of women on the board of directors is currently 60 percent. Keystone/Georgios Kefalas
So is a quota the key to success in promoting women? “When it comes to image, absolutely. An increase from 17 to 50 percent is massive,” says Inés Mateos, an expert in education and diversity who teaches at the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland, among other places.
But just changing the image is not enough. There also needs to be a change in the culture of companies. “Many questions arise, such as: How many women are there in total? How do they see themselves? How are they connected to one another?”
Caption: Inés Mateos, expert on education and diversity: “New generations are coming with different values.” zvg
A quota is certainly a useful instrument, a starting signal for a larger change, Mateos continues. Other countries have already done this. Spain was the first country in Europe to introduce a gender quota, followed by Norway, Iceland and later Germany. In Switzerland, on the other hand, only guidelines apply to listed companies. Only Basel-Stadt has legal requirements.
All-male committees are a thing of the past
Mateos is confident that change is also taking place in other cantons. “New generations are coming with different values.” Change always takes time, says the diversity expert. At least on the boards of directors in Switzerland, the proportion of women has slowly but steadily increased in recent years and currently stands at just under a third.
We still have a lot to do in Switzerland.
One thing is clear: all-male committees are a thing of the past, says IWB board member Regula Dietrich. “This change can no longer be stopped.” And Monika Naef hopes that the proportion of women in traditional male professions will also increase in general. There is still a lot to do here. “We still have a lot to do in Switzerland. So that it is a matter of course that women and men can choose the life model that they feel is right for them.”
This is what it looks like for Swiss companies
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Listed companies in Switzerland still have very few women at the top. The situation is somewhat more balanced at the largest corporations, as an analysis by the news agency AWP shows.
Overall, women make up around 21 percent of the management and board of directors of listed companies as of the beginning of May 2024. This means that their share has increased by one percentage point in one year.
The Basel-based pharmaceutical company Sandoz had the highest proportion of women, with women making up 45 percent of management positions. Roche and Zurich Insurance followed in second and third place with a proportion of 43 and 42 percent respectively.
The worst performers were the sanitary group Geberit with a share of 15 percent and Swiss Life with a share of 20 percent.
