Neuchâtel: where one woman broke the male monopoly on politics

The first woman in Switzerland ever to be elected to a cantonal parliament was Raymonde Schweizer.

This Social Democrat came from the industrial town of La Chaux-de-Fonds in the Neuchâtel Jura. A trade unionist and feminist, she was elected on her first try in 1960, thereby becoming a trendsetter at a time when Swiss women were not even allowed to vote in national elections. Not once but twice w... More info