Toilet issue stems from no votes for women till '71

Tuesday, 30 April 2024 06:30

Switzerland, famously, didn’t give women the vote on the federal level until 1971.

The delay on full voting rights is still having an effect today – there aren’t enough toilets for women in the federal parliament building.

When the building was completed in 1902 – there were no elected women. So, toilet facilities were geared towards men.

There are 21 toilets for 93 elected women in both houses. But that number doesn’t include female staff.

Many have been complaining about the lack of facilities – especially when both houses are in session.

Officials are at pains to point out the situation is legal. By law, there must be one toilet for every 15 women.

Even so, it’s acknowledged there is a problem and there are plans to improve the situation.

More from Bitesize News

Citizenship remains one of the hardest on continent

The Council of States has rejected a popular initiative that would have let foreigners apply for citizenship after just five years, closing the parliamentary door on the biggest attempt in years to loosen one of Europe's strictest naturalisation regimes
More gun crime in Annemasse

Seven people are in French police custody after a shooting Monday evening at a drug-dealing spot in Ville-la-Grand, on the edge of Annemasse
Geneva land ownership change

The canton of Geneva is set to become the sole owner of the land beneath Stade de Genève, buying out a parcel held by federal railways CFF for CHF 15.84 million
Agriculture warning after record breaking summer

Farmers warn that another summer like this one would eat through their remaining reserves and force cuts to herds and crops
SNB interest rate stable

The Swiss National Bank has kept its key interest rate at zero, sticking with a policy that has held since June 2025 even as oil-driven inflation ticks higher
Phone company going to court

A Swisscom technician who spent 38 years at the company says he was fired for helping his 80-year-old neighbour cancel a subscription she never wanted