From the MAG – Job title: lawyer. Gender: still an obstacle?
by claudia la via
In 1886, Emilie Kempin-Spyri — Switzerland’s first woman to earn a doctorate in law — stood before the Federal Supreme Court. Her case was radical: she argued that the phrase “Swiss citizen” in the constitution should also apply to women, granting her the right to practise law. The court dismissed her claim as “novel and audacious”. Kempin-Spyri died in poverty, never having been admitted to the bar. It would take another 37 years before Swiss women gained access to the legal profession.
Today the landscape appears transformed—at least on paper. Women now make up over 60% of law graduates in Switzerland. Yet, in the country’s top law firms, only around 13–14% of partners are women. The first female president of the Federal Supreme Court wasn’t appointed until 2021, when Martha Niquille-Eberle broke a century-old glass ceiling.
The pipeline is full—but few make it to the top. This article explores where Swiss legal culture stands today on female leadership, through the voices of those living it: from senior partners to associates and students. What does it mean to be a woman lawyer in a profession where gender is still a quiet gatekeeper?
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