Workshop gleichstellen.ch

Identify and record existing knowledge about the subject, any known solutions, and possibly any reservations or opposition. These posters can be referred back to in the course of the workshop.

• Discussion questions :
• What really stood out for you ? Why ?
• What have you especially noticed in the development of equal opportunity policies over the years ? (Watch individual sequences again as required)
• Mr Huber, CEO of UND, says that between 2008 and 2015, 35 companies were singled out for recognition for their promotion of work/life balance. But Switzerland has half a million companies, so how relevant are these 35 companies ?
• As part of its work/life balance measures, the Buechberg Care Centre introduced longer holiday leave, longer maternity leave with better pay, free parking for employees as well as free coffee, tea and mineral water. How useful do you consider these measures ?
• What is the goal of these measures ? (Employee satisfaction and/or equality between men and women ?)
• Do internal equal opportunity policies make sense ?
• Mr Werder, managing director of Samuel Werder AG, tells us about who decides which measures will be implemented (he, his brother, the workshop manager, and Mr Erne). Who should have the power to decide whether to introduce equal opportunity measures ? Why ?
• All of the non-management employees interviewed in the video would like to see more government measures in this regard. The executives, meanwhile, prefer voluntary, company-based solutions. What is your opinion about this ?

Discussion question :

• The CEO of Samuel Werder AG, Mr Werder says at the end of the video clip that, overall, virtually nothing has been done since the introduction of the Equality Act in Switzerland twenty years ago. What needs to be done to ensure that equal professional opportunities are created for men and women in Switzerland in the next 20 years ?

Then present results/ideas to the whole.

You met Mr Werder, the managing director of Samuel Werder AG, who decides together with his brother, the workshop manager, and Mr Erne about the measures that should be taken in the company's equal opportunities project. You also met a couple of the company's employees.
Create a role play where some of you play employees (both male and female), others play Mr Werder, his brother, and the workshop manager. What demands for equal opportunities will you make as employees ? And which will the employer accept ?
Outcome 1 : The employer accepts the demands and wishes of the employees ;
Outcome 2 : The employer describes the difficulties that would happen with implementing the requirements to (too expensive, unrealistic etc.) and negotiates compromises ;
Outcome 3 : The employer does not accept the demands and wishes of the employees and instead presents its own ideas that meet the employer's needs but do not really have much to do with equal opportunities for women and men.

Then discuss in the whole group how the two roles felt in each of the variants and which variant would be most likely in the real world.

At the beginning of the video clip, you were introduced to social researcher Lucia M. Lanfranconi. As part of her research, she has found that voluntary, company-driven measures are often aimed at employee satisfaction, which is beneficial to the company, but don't have much to do with equal opportunities between women and men. At the end of the video, the question is raised whether these kinds of voluntary equality projects are sufficient for Switzerland or whether more mandatory measures are required, as have been implemented in other countries. Employees tend to think that such generally obligatory measures are needed while employers tend to think that voluntary, company-based measures suffice.

Set up a panel discussion with the following roles :

• Employer representatives : categorically against mandatory measures and in favour of company-based solutions
• Union representatives : for mandatory measures, incl. compliance checks and sanctions
• Equality expert : in favour of (creative) equal opportunity measures that include as many companies as possible

Then discuss in the whole group how the two roles felt in each of the variants.

Step 1:
Word associations: Participants each have 30 sec. to write down on individual post-it notes as many words as possible that they associate with a phrase suggested by the facilitator (random words such as spring, solidarity, or having to do with the focus of the workshop). Quantity over quality here! The post-its are collected after each round and then hung on an "inspiration board" poster.

Step 2:
This is where the actual tour of the three posts begins. Participants have 5 minutes at each post and then move on until they have visited them all. The objective is to develop as many new and creative measures as possible, and/or to solve a previously identified specific problem.
Inspiration board: The post-it notes generated in step 1 can be rearranged or added to.
Random input: On the basis of existing, random objects, participants write or draw associations related to the focus of the workshop
Idea map: This is a brainstorming session in which the idea is passed around a circle, with each new participant providing new concepts, references and links.

Step 3:
Inspired by the material provided around the room and the elements on the poster, participants each draft 3-4 on improving equal opportunities within a company. This is done in pairs arranged by the facilitators. Duration: 20 minutes.

Step 4:
The pairs present their results in brief. Then the partici-pants are given 5 glue dots each with which they can individually evaluate the ideas; all of their points can be awarded to a single idea or split among the ideas as they wish.

Step 5:
The pairs then decide on 2-3 of the most popular ideas and use them to develop concrete solutions or measures. 20 minutes.