ECONOMY, STATE OR CULTURE - EXPLANATIONS FOR THE REGIONAL VARIATIONS IN GENDER INEQUALITY IN SWISS EMPLOYMENT

The proportion of women in top socioeconomic groups (managerial and pr ofessional jobs) is, apart from the size of the wages gap between wome n and men, the best measure of the degree of gender inequality in paid work. While there has been a remarkable quantitative expansion in fem ale labour-market participation in Switzerland and elsewhere, the prop ortion of women in positions with high-level decision-making power rem ains small. This article analyses the regional variations in gender in equality in Swiss employment for two different spatial dimensions: (a) 106 labour-market regions; and (b) four types of regions according to their position in the centre-periphery hierarchy. The results show th at the proportion of women in positions of authority is considerably h igher in the French and Italian-speaking regions than in similar Germa n-speaking regions. Do these variations result from different cultural norms and values in different parts of Switzerland concerning gender relations? Are the French and Italian-speaking parts characterized by a more egalitarian gender culture? Or are there different concepts of the role of the welfare state inside Switzerland? Do the French and It alian-speaking cantons for instance offer better public provision to f acilitate women's paid work? Or do these variations between the lingui stic regions mainly conceal economic structures, for Example different sectoral or branch structures in employment? This article discusses a nd assesses the usefulness of these three different theoretical approa ches for providing an explanation of regional variations in gender ine qualities in Swiss employment.