Does business really want women to work?

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In December 2014, Economiesuisse director Monika Ruehl told the Aargauer Zeitung: “I cannot say in detail what the working world of the future will look like. But you must be realistic. There will be no cardinal changes, also because the opportunities for women are limited.” It sounded disinterested.

A month ago, Economiesuisse President Christophe Mader told Radio SRF: “We must raise awareness among companies that the untapped potential of women’s work is critical.”

Economiesuisse has discovered women as a resource. The umbrella organization of the Swiss economy sees them as a remedy against the notorious shortage of skilled workers and to increase competitiveness. Only: is the Economiesuisse committed to public funding of kindergartens, as discussed Wednesday by the National Council – after all, a proposal that should allow mothers to continue working? “The economy contributes to a better combination of family and work,” the economist said ahead of parliamentary consultations. But: “In order to raise funding, the template must be changed.” Therefore, we only recommend “conditional yes”.

There is no doubt that the situation of today’s workers cannot be even remotely compared to that of Italian seasonal workers in the 1960s. In essence, however, the famous phrase of Max Frisch still applies: “We called the workers, and the people came.” As long as companies only view their employees as a resource, something is going wrong in our work world. Therefore, it is not surprising that new mothers are harassed and discriminated against by superiors, as my colleague Camille Kündig describes in the Sunday newspaper Blick.

Yes, the economy is now demanding that more women do better paid jobs. In fact, she doesn’t want to know anything about these women.

In the end, the National Council accepted the proposal to establish a kindergarten without the cuts required by the Economiesuisse. Of course, the bill has yet to be discussed in the Council of States. And even if it succeeds, the world of work for many young parents will remain a bizarre reality, full of contradictions and conflicts. Additional and cheaper kindergartens by themselves do not solve their problems, and in some cases may even exacerbate them, as they increase the burden on women.

In fact, according to the Federal Commission on Family Affairs, “No other country has as many babies in daycare and daycare as we do.” The reason for this is the ultra-short maternity leave by international standards, which is only 14 weeks. The Commission therefore advocates that mothers and fathers be allowed to take parental leave for a total of 38 weeks after the birth of their child. Because for babies who aren’t yet friendly with their peers, outdoor nurseries are often just “car parks for kids,” as the late Danish parenting expert Jesper Juul once put it.

With a parental leave of 14 months, Finland is considered the most family-friendly country in Europe. And that’s not all: until the baby is three years old, the mother and father can choose to entrust the child to a kindergarten with large subsidies or look after him at home – in which case they will receive state benefits.

14 weeks here, 14 months or three years in Finland: it is easy to imagine how EconomySuisse will react to the demand for a corresponding improvement in the situation of families! Scandinavians don’t have to hide when it comes to women’s employment rates. On the contrary, there are significantly more women leaders in Finland than in Switzerland.

It looks like Finland knows how best to use its resources.

Source: Blick