The Swiss government this week rejected two proposals that sought to introduce a third-gender or no-gender option to official documents, deviating from a growing number of western countries who have introduced the option.
The Federal Council, the executive arm of the Swiss government, published its conclusion on Wednesday, December 23rd, in a report prepared as a response to parliament, stating that “the binary gender model is still strongly entrenched in Swiss society” and that “the social conditions for the introduction of a third gender or for a general exemption of the gender registration do not exist at the moment.”
The executive body highlighted that adding a third-gender or no-gender option would require “numerous” alterations to the Swiss constitution and to laws at the national level and in the country’s 26 administrative regions. The report contends that social discourse is needed before a new gender model can be established.
The government also referred to the position of the National Ethics Committee, which in a 2020 report concluded that the time was not right for a change to the system.
Presently, individuals are registered in Switzerland’s civil registry as male or female. An alternative option does not exist.
Switzerland’s rejection of the proposal comes several years after neighboring countries like Austria and Germany began recognizing some form of third gender on official documents.
