The legal and social role of Swiss women has evolved significantly from the mid-20th century onwards, having been introduced at a much later rate than that of the wider West.

Being in a society with strong patriarchal roots, Swiss tradition also places women under the authority of their fathers and their husbands.

[3] Such adherence to patriarchal donchanged and improved when the women of Switzerland gained their right to vote at the federal level on February 7, 1971.

[3] According to swissinfo.ch in 2011, Switzerland's State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) were encouraging business companies to "appoint more women to top-level positions".

[5] Prominent Swiss women in the fields of business and law include Emilie Kempin-Spyri (1853–1901), the first woman to graduate with a law degree and to be accepted as an academic lecturer in the country,[4] and Isabelle Welton, the head of IBM Switzerland and one of few women in the country to hold a top-level position in a business firm.

In Europe, Switzerland was one of the last countries to establish gender equality in marriage: married women's rights were severely restricted until 1988, when legal reforms providing gender equality in marriage, abolishing the legal authority of the husband, came into force (these reforms had been approved in 1985 by voters in a referendum, who narrowly voted in favor with 54.7% of voters approving).

In 2013, further reforms to the civil code followed, removing the remaining discriminatory provisions regarding the spouses' choice of family name and cantonal citizenship law.

The OECD has stated that "The lack of family-friendly policy and workplace support makes it very difficult for many Swiss parents, usually mothers, to combine work and family life".

[24] The OECD has also urged Switzerland to end the practice of irregular and interrupted school hours which makes it difficult for mothers to work; and to revise its tax and supplementary benefits policies.