Quota, Scholarship and Awards
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Quota, scholarships and awards intended to promote women are increasingly being opened to men.
Scientific research… and “women”?
In recent years, the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), which funds academic research at universities and other institutions throughout the country, has implemented measures to promote the work of women in scientific research. In order to do this, new subsidies and prizes and a web portal making female researchers more visible have been created.
Although equality between women and men has been guaranteed by the Swiss Federal Constitution since 1981, women are still significantly underrepresented in key scientific positions. Indeed, despite the total number of female students being slightly higher than that of male students, and the proportion of women at doctoral level being almost 45%, women occupy only 23% of the professorial chairs in Swiss universities. In 2021, the SNSF decided on new measures to include more women in science, and hence introduced a quota for women within the evaluation bodies, requiring both sexes to hold at least 40% of all positions including presidencies.
We asked the SNSF whether the category of women could include men, and the answer was yes! They responded that the quota is not based on sex, but on “self-declared gender identity”.
Subsidies for scientific research
Among other measures taken by the SNSF to encourage female scientists, there is the Gender Equality Grant aimed at young women researchers. It offers them additional individualised and flexible support for their career development.
An eligible person receives 1000 CHF per 12 months' approved project running time. The grant may be used to finance career support measures but does not cover family support measures. As SNFS uses gender identity for their awards, we presume they do it for their grants too.
Awards
Since 2009, the SNSF has awarded the Marie Heim-Vögtlin (MHV) prize of CHF 25’000 each year to a female researcher for excellence in research. The name of the prize is a tribute to the first female doctor in Switzerland. We asked the SNSF if the MHV prize could be awarded to a male researcher: their answer confirmed that a man can be a beneficiary of the prize if he has officially changed his sex in the civil register.
Femina Helvetica invites the SNSF to amend their regulations and to ensure that subsidies and awards for women cannot be granted to men who claim to be one.
Scholarships
Another promotion programme for women in Switzerland is the Swiss L’Oréal – UNESCO for Women in Science program, which was launched in February 2025 by the Swiss Commission for UNESCO, L’Oréal Switzerland and the Swiss Academia of Technical Sciences (SATW). These three organizations award four individual scholarships of 25’000 CHF to four emerging female scientists working at universities or research institutes in Switzerland in the fields of science and technology. Official rules and application criteria across international, national, and regional branches (such as the UK, Ireland, and Switzerland) state that eligible researchers must “identify as female”.
The list of programmes for female researchers mentioned here is by no means exhaustive. Femina Helvetica requests that rules for participation in these programmes be written clearly, that the word ‘women’ means women only, so that funds intended for the promotion of exceptional female researchers cannot be taken by men.
Links to supporting documentation of this issue:
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Article on the introduction of Women’s quota at the Swiss National Science Fund (SNF/FNS), June 2023.
https://www.letemps.ch/suisse/fonds-national-suisse-introduit-un-quota-femmes -
The online portal AcademiaNet managed by the SNF/FNS since January 2020.
https://www.snf.ch/fr/OroQvUl1LVRa4MX2/page/apropos/partenaires/academianet -
The Marie Heim-Vögtlin (MHV) prize
https://www.snf.ch/fr/mcRzvGGbqNfZeR3c/page/prix-marie-heim-voegtlin-la-releve-scientifique-feminine-a-l-honneur -
Launch of the “Swiss L’Oréal – UNESCO For Women in Science” Programme
https://www.unesco.ch/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/PR-Launch-of-the-Swiss-LOreal-UNESCO-For-Women-in-Science-Program.pdf