The City of Bern wants 50% of its executives to be women or queer

Quotas for sufficient representation of women and queer people. This is the recent project of the City of Bern. The goal is to have 50% of leadership positions filled by “Finta” people, a term encompassing women, intersex, non-binary, trans and agender people. This proposal goes beyond the initial objectives which targeted 40% women by the end of 2024, recalls the “Berner Zeitung”. Although the proportion has reached 38%, the Young Socialists (Juso) party believes that it is essential to “continue progress to reflect gender diversity”. The initiative, however, raises legal questions, because the current legal framework does not provide for a third gender in Switzerland.

Implementing this measure also poses technical and ethical challenges, particularly in how to identify genders in employee databases. The objective is to allow self-declaration of queer people while respecting the privacy of individuals. However, the “Finta” quota proposal is debated, particularly due to fears of discrimination against cisgender men. For Paula Zysset, municipal councilor (Juso), this measure is a response to the historical under-representation of “Finta” people in management positions. The project, which was approved by a majority of the city council, will be examined again in 2026 for possible implementation.