Chocolate, Cheese and Gender Equality? : How Switzerland’s national culture influences the implementation of gender equality policies in companies

Abstract: Gender equality is one of the most topical issues of all. Many researchers around the world are addressing the issue of equal opportunities in the labour market and are looking for ways to ensure this in all sectors of the economy. This paper addresses this issue and aims to gain a deep understanding of the influence of a national culture on the implementation of gender equality policies within companies. With the help of a qualitative research method, the various factors of culture were examined and their relationship to the gender-specific understanding of a society analysed. The findings show the effects on companies operating in Switzerland and combine the experience of case companies with the literature already available. In order to test and further explore this combination, the authors of the thesis opted for an abductive research approach to repeatedly expand understanding with new literature and develop a more relevant comprehension of the influence of culture. The entire literature research finally created a framework that shows the links between the various theories and provides a clear overview of the background. With the help of selected case companies, important insights could be gained and with this empirical data, a detailed analysis for a better understanding of the influence of cultures on the implementation of gender equality policies could be achieved. These findings, combined with the existing theory and theoretical synthesis, provide a clear analysis and finally provide the reader with an insight into the implications, recommendations and limitations as well as suggestions for further research. Culture has a major influence on the implementation of gender equality policies. This paper shows how the various companies in Switzerland approach this influence and how Swedish companies with business operations in Switzerland in particular are pushing ahead with the implementation of policies for equality between women and men. This can give companies in Switzerland an indication of how they have to deal with cultural conditions within a country and how they can make optimum use of these for their human resource management.