New campaign aims to inspire Zurich women to pursue tech professions
Women still earn less than men. The wage gap is widening, especially between mothers and men. There are still industries in which women are underrepresented. The Zurich Department of Economic Affairs therefore wants to inspire more women to take up technological professions.
The "Woman in Tech" campaign aims to increase the proportion of women in this field. At a media conference, Carmen Walker Späh (FDP) said that this has been tried for a long time - with moderate success.
Walker Späh sees the new campaign as a wake-up call to society. Women are to be targeted for the IT industry using changed language, positive images and emotions. "We need to close this gender gap in tech professions," she said. The industry is important for innovation, she said, and women should also help shape it.
In the majority at universities
In the highest-paying industries, finance and insurance and information and communications, the percentage of women is only 39 percent and 31 percent, respectively, according to the Department of Economic Affairs. In health and social services, the figure is 76 percent.
Women are in the majority at universities and universities of applied sciences. In medicine and pharmacy, the proportion of women is 69 percent, and in law 67 percent.
Motherhood as a career killer
However, it is not only the choice of industry that affects the wage gap between men and women, but also maternity, as the current Zurich Economic Monitoring of the Economics Department at the Office of Economics and Labor (AWA) shows. Many women then reduce their workload. This not only reduces income, but also career opportunities and professional experience.
Or women choose industries from the outset that are more compatible with motherhood in Switzerland. In the best-paid industries, it is still difficult to make a career with part-time work, as Luc Zobrist, head of the Economics Department, told the media.
A comparison with countries such as Denmark or the USA shows major differences. While women in Switzerland earn around 60 percent less after becoming mothers, wages in Denmark fall by 20 percent. (SDA)
