Officially declared a housewife: IV discriminates against mothers with disabilities

The initial situation is quickly explained: a young woman became so seriously ill in 2016 that she could only work to a limited extent. The IV agency awards her half an IV pension. The woman fights for the IV to support her in regaining a foothold in the labor market – and is assured of this. But before the measures come into effect, she becomes pregnant in 2019.

Mother of two girls loses pension

The IV office in Zug stops providing integration assistance after the birth of the first child. Against the will of the now 38-year-old woman, who had already organized childcare. When the second daughter was born two years later, the IV office also stopped paying the pensions.

Reason: Even if the woman were healthy, she would stop working and take care of the children instead. Everything else is ‘unrealistic’. As a housewife, she would have no wages and would therefore not be entitled to a disability pension. From a financial perspective this is not necessary. The father of the two girls earns enough with about 6,000 francs a month.

“Impermissible” assumption

The woman defends herself before the Zug administrative court. In the proceedings she points out that she intended to train as a business economist. With this diploma she could have earned a comparable income as her partner. The intention was also to have the children cared for more often in childcare after integration. The IV office in Zug did not take this into account.

The Zug Administrative Court now agrees with the woman. The IV suspected “unacceptably” that young mothers did not work full-time. In its ruling, which is described as a leading verdict, the court quotes figures from the Federal Statistical Office. In 2022, 17 percent of mothers with a partner and children under the age of three had a full-time job. Another 30 percent worked between 50 and 89 percent. The IV office violated the requirement of gender equality enshrined in the Federal Constitution. The woman continues to receive a half pension.

“Swiss standardized questionnaire”

Faced with the accusation that it had ignored the ban on discrimination, the IV office in Zug took an indirect position. When asked, she writes that the clarifications in this case followed a standardized questionnaire throughout Switzerland. “This ensures that the situation on site is assessed in a substantiated, integrated manner and from different perspectives.” That also happened in this case.

Maternity is a common reason for pension review. The IV is re-examining the claim extensively because it is believed that the living situation of those affected has changed. During the explanation, they are explicitly asked whether they would work despite the fact that they have children without disabilities – and if so, how many. If an IV recipient says, when asked, that she would work 100 percent if she got sick, the onus is on the IV office to prove otherwise. Sweeping away women’s wishes with the argument of ‘unrealistic’ is not enough.

Fathers are treated differently

And what about the fathers? “I don’t know of a single case where paternity automatically led to an appeal,” said Irene Rohrbach, a social security law expert at the Observer Advisory Center.

The IV office in Zug sees no reason to change its practice. When the observer asked explicitly, the non-binding answer was: “The IV office is aware of the importance of the subject.” The employees would be trained in how to deal with customers. “We work with our policyholders with the necessary sensitivity.”

Role models often lead to IV pension reductions

The latter was not successful in this case. And many mothers with disabilities are affected just like the Zug woman, Pro Infirmis knows from experience. “Unfortunately, it is not an isolated case, but a general problem,” says spokesman Philipp Schüepp. “During the surveys, women are suggested that they would have worked less because of childcare, regardless of their disability. Role models and the resulting social pressure play a role among both IV agencies and those involved – to the detriment of women. We don’t see this problem in men.”