In Geneva, all women receive a 20 percent discount
After women’s strike
Because of wage discrimination: in future women will pay less than men for concerts and the swimming pools in Geneva
After a heated debate, the Geneva city parliament decided to grant all women a 20 percent discount on city leisure activities. The aim of the campaign is to make the wage inequality between the sexes visible.
The great women’s strike of 2019 reverberates. One of the demands was to eliminate wage inequality between women and men. On Wednesday, the Geneva parliament adopted a motion with votes from the left and the center, which is causing discussions. In the future, women should receive a 20 percent discount for city leisure activities, such as the swimming pool, cultural events or sporting events. Is this just positive sexism or a step towards equality?
Symbolic politics instead of practical solutions
The Vaudois FDP National Councilor Jacqueline de Quattro is skeptical. “The initiative is more cosmetic than bringing real improvements,” she says. The lawyer is in the process of looking after her grandson this morning. She has been campaigning for more equality for many years. “But practical solutions are important to me and not symbolic politics.” The watering can principle in Geneva creates new inequalities:
“A millionaire can be discounted in the pool, while an apprentice has to pay the full amount.”
There are other levers to eliminate wage inequality. For example, cantons ensure that public funds are only allocated to companies that employ at least half of them women and where there is evidence of equal pay. Or companies could use the federally operated analysis tool Logib to check wage equality and make adjustments. Businesses could include family labor in the ratings, as it takes a lot of managerial and organizational skills to run a family. “All ideas are welcome, some are more relevant than the others,” says de Quattro.
Kind gesture but not very thought through
The Geneva SP National Councilor Laurence Fehlmann Rielle says: “The idea is generous, but it does not address the great inequalities and injustices,” she says. This would probably benefit women who do not absolutely need it. The city has a limited budget and should use it for people who really need it. Sport and culture are important areas, but: “What about the women who live in precariat and don’t have enough money for groceries at the end of the month?” Fehlmann Rielle is also skeptical about the implementation. “How do women have to identify themselves as such in order to benefit from this discount?” The motion is a friendly gesture, but not very well thought out, according to the National Councilor.
The Geneva city government must now examine how they can implement this request. The Federal Office for Gender Equality did not want to comment on request because it is still a regional project. Whether other Swiss cities will follow suit remains to be seen.