The Lucrative Logic of Female Exclusivity

Rotary, Kiwanis, and Lions clubs have long served as the discreet engines of professional advancement. For over a century, these organisations operated as strictly male domains where economic capital was traded over closed-door dinners. Today, yielding to modern egalitarianism, most of these former boys' clubs have opened their rosters. Curiously, their female counterparts have chosen a different path. Across Switzerland—a nation characterised by a healthy economy, high educational standards, and a rather comfortable adherence to traditional social models—women-only networks fiercely defend their exclusionary policies.

The blueprint for these organisations was drawn a century ago. Zonta originated in New York in 1919, established by some of the first female university graduates who found their academic credentials did not grant them parity with male peers. By 1923, the Zonta Foundation for Women emerged to fund economic opportunities globally, growing to over a thousand chapters today. The Lucerne-country branch, established in 1991, blends professional networking with philanthropy. Representative Bernadette Koch notes the club has amassed around half a million Swiss francs since its inception, directing funds to local causes like the Lucerne women's shelter.

While Zonta mixes career promotion with charity, other groups dispense with philanthropy to focus strictly on commerce. The Women's Business Forum of Central Switzerland (WIF), founded in 1981, operates purely as a career accelerator. Membership is restricted to active professionals—bankers, lawyers, and entrepreneurs—and ceases upon retirement. The organisation currently maintains around 160 members.

Co-president Anduena Berisha maintains that the absence of men is a practical necessity rather than a hostile act. The justification rests on the premise that female professionals face distinct logistical hurdles, particularly the friction between career ambitions and childcare. In a prosperous society where part-time work remains overwhelmingly a female domain, these exclusive spaces allow members to candidly discuss the exhaustion of balancing corporate performance with domestic duties.

The rationale provided by these networks relies heavily on the concept of a protected environment. Koch points out that women working reduced hours often struggle to command professional respect, requiring an extra reserve of courage to demand career progression. Berisha argues that a single-sex environment eliminates barriers to addressing these specific vulnerabilities while simultaneously boosting the visibility of their professional capabilities.

There is a distinct irony in the fact that while male exclusion is widely condemned as an archaic barrier to progress, female exclusion is rebranded as an essential survival strategy. Yet, from a rational standpoint, this strategy makes perfect sense. In a Swiss society that still wrestles with conservative domestic expectations, leveraging an exclusive network is simply good business. These clubs provide a concentrated pool of social capital, recognising a fundamental truth of the marketplace: exclusivity creates value.

Written by Martina Kirchner martina.kirchner@alpineweekly.com