How womenâs suffrage in Switzerland changed the world Switzerland is active in promoting gender equality abroad, including in Libya. Mahmud TURKIA / AFP When Swiss women were finally able to vote a half century ago, Switzerland was considered a backward, patriarchal country. Today, it is a global pioneer in promoting womenâs rights. This content was published on April 9, 2021 - 09:00 April 9, 2021 - 09:00 Bruno Kaufmann Bruno is swissinfo.châs global democracy correspondent as well as being a long-term foreign correspondent for the Swiss Broadcasting Company, based in Sweden. He is also the Director of International Relations at the Swiss Democracy Foundation and Co-president of the Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy.