Diversity makes a key contribution to excellence in Swiss research and teaching. Taking into account and promoting equal opportunities and diversity in all their dimensions is therefore a cross-cutting issue that affects all Swiss universities equally. They campaign to ensure that equal opportunities are guaranteed in teaching, research and the organisation of the institutions of higher education.
Switzerland has run programmes fostering equal opportunity of women and men at higher education institutions since 2000.
The projects of the programme currently running, Diversity, Inclusion and Equal Opportunity/Equity in University Development 2021-2024, coordinated by the national Rectors’ Conference swissuniversities, do not only tackle gender issues but various dimensions of diversity such as socio-economic and cultural background. The programme features a forum fostering exchange and transfer of successful strategies.
An overview of former equal opportunity-programmes can be found here. They supported Gender Equality Action Plans (GAPs 2017-2020 of Swiss HEI) in order to further implement structural change, aimed at an increase in the proportion of female professors and (programmes before 2016) the establishment of Gender Studies and applied gender research projects.
A Swiss Academic Dual Career Network (S-ADCN) promotes the exchange of good practices between Swiss higher education institutions with regard to gender-sensitive nomination and recruitment-procedures. In 2020, swissuniversities published recommendations and good practices for professorial recruitment aiming at improving the quality of hiring procedures and, as a consequence, diversity among university professors. A report on the challenges of reconciling an academic career, partnership and family (in German) was published as part of the "Equal opportunities and university development" programme 2017-2020/21.
Overview of funding instruments and supplementary measures introduced by the Swiss National Science Foundation and aiming to achieve gender equality
Website of the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation regarding Gender Equality (in French and German)
Gender Campus is a platform for Gender Studies, Equality and Diversity at Swiss higher education institutions
swissuniability.ch provides detailed information on the subject of "Studying with a handicap" and shows concrete possibilities for action on the part of students, but also on the part of universities
Equal opportunity and gender at
Universities: IDEAS is the association of the equal-opportunities delegates of the ten Swiss Universities and the two national technical universities
Universities of Applied Sciences and Arts: Expert group on equal opportunities of the chamber of universities of applied sciences and arts
Universities of Teacher Education: Working group gender/equal opportunity of the chamber of universities of teacher education