BERN, SWITZERLAND – Women in the US celebrated Equal Pay Day 17 April, six weeks after their Swiss counterparts, Megan Beyer, chair of the US-Swiss Sister Republics – Building Bridges conference says in a mailing to the group. The group of women leaders from the two countries who met in Bern and Geneva 7 March marked the day when Swiss women finally earned the same amount men earned the previous year.
“Comparing a simple thing like the differing dates of Equal Pay Day brings into a sharper focus the issue of where both of our countries stand on this road to gender equality,” writes Beyer. “That is the beauty of this bi-lateral project. By comparing our two countries, we come to understand our own nation better.
By March 7th, women in Switzerland had finally earned the same amount men had earned the previous year. In America, women still needed to work another six weeks to match the earnings of their male counterparts. It is no wonder the World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Index puts America at 17 and Switzerland at 10.”
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Sister Republics - Building Bridges conference in Bern in March: women leaders from US, Switzerland (photo: Annabelle Magazine)
Beyer, whose husband is the US ambassador to Switzerland, Donald Beyer, points to new steps being taken in both countries to address the problem of pay discrimination and inequity. The US government has created new apps “that offer salary data which add transparency and give women a distinct advantage in salary negotiation.” The White House recently released a report, Keeping America’s Women Moving Forward, The Key to an Economy Built to Last, on “policies, programmes and legislative initiatives under the Obama Administration that are supporting women and girls at all stages of their lives.”
Swiss voters could well find that they are voting on corporate equal pay quotas, with Lisa Feldman of Annabelle Magazine and Sandra Jean of Le Matin establishing a task force on quota legislation to collect signatures for a popular initiative that would put the issue on the ballot in Switzerland.
A “call to action” by the Swiss chapter of Corporate Women Directors will be the focus of a meeting this summer to review several initiatives to get more women on Swiss boards. Co-founder of the group, KPMG, noted in 2011 that “A recently published study by Heidrick & Struggles on corporate governance at major European corporations shows that Swiss companies, where women comprise 11 percent of boards of directors, still have a lot of catching up to do. Whilst only marginally short of the European average of 12 percent, they are still far behind the leaders Norway (33 percent), Sweden (29 percent) and Finland (25 percent).”
The conference targeted five areas as the focus for bi-lateral efforts:
- Raising awareness and communicating the message that we need more mentoring and sponsoring to get the next generation of women into leadership positions
- Defining standard elements of certification programs such as: salary, recruitment and promotion, training, and flexible wor
- Providing more affordable quality child care options for working mothers
- Promoting flexible work models by changing the corporate culture to accept pay for function instead of pay for hours
- Encouraging women to be strategic in building relation- ships both inside and outside the workplace.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Fairness was the big word in the annual State of the Union address delivered by US President Barack Obama, who focused on keeping the American Dream alive. The speech serves as a reply to Republican candidates campaigning for the November 2012 presidential election and it provides the Democrats’ agenda for the year ahead. “We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by. Or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules,” said the president in the speech widely viewed on television Tuesday night (ed. note: viewing figures are not yet available, but Bloomberg has analyzed trends for these speeches).
Links to other sites: CNN, Guardian, UK, LA Times, Miami Herald, Minnpost, White House
Le Corbusier, photo via Wikipedia
LA CHAUX-DE-FONDS, SWITZERLAND – The 125th anniversary of the birth of Charles-Edouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier, will be celebrated by the town of La Chaux-de-Fonds where the Swiss-French architect was born.
The small Swiss city will kick off celebrations with an event to take place at the White House, or Maison blanche on 21 January.
La Maison blanche, is the first independent project of Le Corbusier built by the then-25-year-old architect, who designed the house for his parents and lived there himself for several years. It is now a Swiss national monument.
The town is also planning on publishing a new book, mounting an exhibit, offering a conference and carrying out events in schools.
The festivities will end with big street party on 6 October 2012, the day of the architect’s birth.
The “critical homage” as the event has been described in his birth city, raises some controversy because of Le Corbusier’s alleged anti-Semitism.
Le Corbusier, considered as one of the most influential architects of the 20th-century, adopted his pseudonym in the 1920s.
The expected shakeup in US military leadership appears to be ready, with AP making one of the tersest and shortest news agency reports in some time, with an announcement shortly after noon Swiss time that its sources say Robert Petraeus will become head of the CIA intelligence agency and CIA director Leon Panetta is being named secretary of defense. The news was elaborated slightly an hour later, with the addition of the names of Lt. Gen. John Allen, to oversee the war in Afghanistan that Petraeus has headed and Ryan Crocker, a diplomat, as US ambassador to Afghanistan. ABC News in the US confirms that its sources have provided the same information.
The Pentagon and White House are so far mum on the disclosures. AP says the announcements are expected to be made Thursday 28 April.
The names come as no surprise, having been mentioned by US media for the past three weeks for the posts, but without a clear sense of when the shuffle would occur.
US officials at the Pentagon say that Robert Gates, the defense secretary, was not given any warning when he visited Bahrain last week that just two days later Saudi Arabia would send 1,000 troops to the small kingdom to help quell protests, Monday 14 March. Aljazeera reports that the UAE (United Arab Emirates) sent 500 police and that both requests were made to help protect government buildings.
The White House said Monday it does not consider the move an invasion by Saudi Arabia, but it cautioned governments in the region to use restraint.
Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are ruled by Sunni Muslim families, and the protesters are Shi’ites. The region has long been marked by taut relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which is ruled by Shi’ite Muslims.
US official reply Tuesday rejects some of criticisms as “political provocation”
US Ambassador Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe at the final report session, UNHRC in Geneva 9 November 2010
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The US and Libya were criticized by other countries during their Universal Periodic Reviews (UPR) by the UN Human Rights Council in the past week. Switzerland, under review 5-8 November by a council committee for its adherence to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, struggled to explain how its political system and direct democracy work in relationship to international law.
The US, at a final report meeting on its review Tuesday 9 November in Geneva, took umbrage with part of the report on the state of human rights in the US, saying”several recommendations are plainly intended as political provocations, and cannot be taken seriously.”
The first-ever Universal Periodic Review of the US by the council took place Friday 5 November (background story) and the report on it was accepted by the council Tuesday. Its review is one of several during the November 2010 session, but those of the US and Libya have attracted the most attention.
Libya taken to task over torture practices, lack of freedom of expression, detentions, migrants
Libya, too, had its first-ever review, Tuesday 9 November, and it was assailed by several countries. Switzerland has had a tense diplomatic relationship with Libya over an incident in Geneva where the son of leader Muamar Qadaffi was arrested and two Swiss businessmen were subsequently held for months in Libya. It asked Libya to make three major changes: allow freedom of expression; end arbitrary detainments including those of people cleared by the courts and free the “hundreds of thousands” held in Libya’s jails and prisons; abolish the death sentence, corporal punishment and torture. The US also said it is concerned about several cases of torture in Libya and lack of freedom of expression, as well as handling of refugees and migrants, which has included shooting at boats of would-be migrants.
Criticism of US focuses on abolishing death penalty
Harold Hongju Koh, legal adviser of the US State Department, who gave the initial reply from the US, told the council that the US believes the recommendations fell into three broad categories:
“First, many of the recommendations fit well with the Obama Administration’s existing approach to human rights, and can be implemented in due course. Second, several recommendations are plainly intended as political provocations, and cannot be taken seriously. Yet a third group of recommendations invite fuller discussion within our government and with our own civil society. Because we take this process seriously, we now plan to conduct a considered, interagency examination of all 228 recommendations, and to give our formal response at the March 2011 Council session.”
The US came in for criticism from several countries during the review session, even from some of its friends, including Switzerland, over its refusal to end the death penalty.
Update 18:15 Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will meet in Prague, Czech Republic Thursday 8 April to sign a new Start treaty, bringing to an end months-long negotiations to reduce strategic arms. The US Senate and Russian Parliament will need to ratify the treaty.
The two presidents agreed to the meeting Friday morning 26 March, in the 13th phone call they have had over the Start talks. The terms of the new agreement will reduce arms stockpiles considerably, according to the White House announcement:
US President Barack Obama says he takes the blame personally for recent lapses in the US security system, in the fight against terrorism. The White House issued a report on the 25 December bomb attempt of a Northwest Airlines plane near Detroit. It calls for quicker and better exchanges of information about possible threats. People who have known the man who attempted to blow up the plane, Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, are recalling the very religious and quiet man they knew.
Links to other sites: The Globe & Mail, Canada, National Public Radio, US, Times, UK and White House summary of report
US President Barack Obama is widely expected to announce Tuesday 1 December that the US will send up to 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan. He phoned Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Sunday and met at the White House with top military and diplomatic officials to brief them and order them to implement a new strategy, the White House announced, without confirming the actual number of troops. He then spent much of Monday discussing US strategy with Afghanistan allies, including Australia, Canada and the UK, in what White House spokesperson Robin Gibbs called “an international effort.” Obama will give a speech at the West Point military academy Tuesday explaining why the US is involved in Afghanistan and announcing details of the new strategy. The head of the US military programme in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, has requested 40,000 troops.
Links to other sites: CNN, New York Times, NPR, Times, UK
No end yet to Start talks in Geneva
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – US President Barack Obama met Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev on the fringes of the Apec meeting in Singapore 14 November, to discuss the resumption of the Start talks on reducing both countries’ nuclear arsenals. Obama hailed the “excellent progress over the last few months”repors the Moscow Times. The Start talks resume in Geneva Monday 16 November.
The current treaty expires 5 December, and though hopeful that a new treaty will be hammered out before the end of the year, Obama’s team suggests a bridging agreement may be necessary because the treaty is unlikely to be signed and ratified in time, reports Fox News.
Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – US President Barack Obama will accompany his wife Michelle to Copenhagen to promote the city of Chicago’s bid as host of the 2016 Olympic Games, the White House announced 28 September. “It’s a city of broad shoulders, big hearts, and bold dreams. A city of legendary sports figures, legendary sports venues and legendary sports fans. We want these games!”, Obama said at the White House in early September. Obama was a senator representing the state of Illinois before becoming president. He lived there for 25 years.
The Lausanne-based International Olympic Committee (IOC) holds its 13th Congress in Copenhagen from 3 to 5 October, and will announce its choice of the host city.
The leaders of the G-20 group of the world’s 20 most important economies, meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, have said that the grouping will become the world’s foremost economic coordination body, the White House announced late 24 September. This is a recognition of the importance of emerging economic powers such as Brazil, China and India. The G-8 comprised only the world’s top industrialized nations. In Pittsburgh the US is urging that institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reflect the changing economic circumstances as well. South Korea will preside the next G-20 meeting. Los Angeles Times, New York Times
Two US journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, were freed from prison in North Korea and flew home to Los Angeles with former US President Bill Clinton late 4 August. The two women were jailed in March for illegally entering the country. They were released on orders from Kim Jong-il, North Korea’s leader, to show the country’s “humanitarian and peace-loving policy” after Clinton went to North Korea on an unannounced visit 3 August. The families told US media they were “overjoyed.” North Korean sources said Clinton and Kim had wide-ranging talks and that Clinton brought a personal message from US President Barack Obama. The White House denied this and repeated that Clinton’s visit was purely a personal one. Nevertheless, the chartered plane carrying them home landed at a military base in Japan with no comment from the military about how long they would be there. BBC, CNN, MSNBC, Wall Street Journal
Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - An empty desk in Geneva is receiving more than normal attention: that of the US ambassador, whose unwieldy title is US Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Other International Organizations. The post has been empty since January 2009 when Warren Tichenor left. Tichenor, a Texan and George W Bush appointment, may not have been a household name, but the new US ambassador could well quickly become one, thanks to sharper interest in how the US will work with other countries on several issues, many of them through international organizations based in Geneva.
This is the era of the Obama administration, with its promise of new relationships, and the period of Hillary Clinton at the helm of the US State Department, re-booting the Start talks with her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Geneva in March 2009. Obama told a group of ambassadors in Washington Wednesday 29 July that “I came into office with a strong commitment to renew American diplomacy, and to start a new era of engagement with the world. This must be a moment when we engage on the basis of mutual interest and mutual respect, so that we can build new partnerships for progress.”
Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe (image: Cisac, Stanford University)
One name being bandied about for the Geneva ambassador’s job is that of Obama fundraiser Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe. Le Temps wrote some weeks ago that she will be named, basing the information on “sources close” to President Obama, and IP Watch, an intellectual property industry newsletter, named her as the likely candidate in a 29 July article.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met 16 June, with the Financial Times saying it “appeared [to be] one of the most tense encounters between the sides for several years” over the issue of Israeli settlements on the West Bank. They disagreed strongly both on US insistance that growth of the settlements stop and Israel’s argument that George W Bush agreed to some expansion.
Hillary Clinton broke her elbow later in the day when she slipped and fell on it as she was heading for the White House. She was treated and released but will have surgery to mend it in coming weeks. CNN
The White House has convinced the US Senate to tone down the language of its version of the $900 billion US economic stimulus package following angry outcries from other governments that the “buy America” language would hamper efforts to recover from the global economic crisis and flies in the face of trade agreements. IHT/New York Times
US President Barack Obama Monday pushed to make the US energy-independent (BBC), to rapidly get state emission standards in place and give states greater freedom (IHT) in setting their own emissions standards for cars, part of energy directives that will reassure Europeans, who saw George W Bush’s energy policies as a stumbling block, writes Reuters.
W Mark Felt has died in Santa Rosa, California at the age of 95. He is described by the New York Times as “the most famous anonymous source” in American history” for the role he kept quiet for more than 30 years. Felt was the secret source for reporter Bob Woodward of the Washington Post as the Watergate scandal unfolded in the early 1970s, eventually leading to the resignation of President Richard Nixon. Felt was the associate director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and fought efforts by the White House to end FBI investigations into “illegal wire tappings, burglaries and money laundering.”
US President-elect Barack Obama will announce his White House security team: secretary of state, national security advisor, defense secretary. His new team is widely expected to show a greater emphasis on diplomacy and aid, with a larger team deployed around the world aimed at “preventing conflicts and rebuilding failed states.” New York Times
US President George W Bush and President-elect Barack Obama held two hours of discussions at the White House Monday while their wives toured the residential area which will become home for the Obama family in January. NPR
