The position of Swiss women slowly improved over the course of the 20th century, but generally lagged behind that of their counterparts in other western countries, politically, socially and economically.

Most notably, Swiss women were the last in Europe to get the vote (apart from Liechtenstein). It was only in 1971 that the male electorate agreed to allow them voting rights at federal level.

A maternity benefit system was added to the constitution in 1945, but it was only in 2004 that voters finally agreed that working mothers should be legally entitled to paid leave for the birth of their children. Until then, most employers did pay mothers a proportion of their salary for several weeks after the birth of a child, but this was not an obligation. Four previous referenda on the issue had been rejected, largely on the grounds that it would cost too much. The provision came fully into force on July 1st 2005.

The 2004 law made no difference to the position of women not in paid employment who are not entitled to any allowance.

Economically the position of women still lay behind that of men at the end of the century. Wide disparities remained between the earnings of men and women, even with the same qualifications for the same work.