Swiss retail co-op Migros has identified a lack of diversity in Swiss social environments, in a recent cultural survey.
The Different together? Switzerland’s largest diversity study was conducted by the Gottlieb Duttweiler Institute (GDI) on behalf of Migros Culture Percentage, an initiative through which Migros supports cultural and social initiatives.
Although Switzerland has 26 cantons, four national languages and many cultures and lifestyles, the survey found that this diversity in not reflected among the respondents’ acquaintances.
For example, people with different levels of education have few points of contact. The study found that the lives of almost two-thirds of highly educated people rarely if ever intersect with those of people who have a low level of education.
People with different income levels also rarely engage with those less well-off. The study found that less than three-quarters of those with little money have little or no contact with affluent people while among the wealthy, over half have no or almost no contact with people who have little money.
Age also impacts how much the Swiss intersect with one another. According to the survey, half of those under 25 have few or no acquaintances over 65, and vice versa. Despite this, under half of those surveyed said contact with different generations is enriching.
Another area the survey looked at is political views, with 50% of respondents having either a handful or no acquaintances with diametrically opposed political views.
The same finding applies to language diversity, with 67% of respondents saying that they had few or no people from other language regions in their circle of acquaintances, but pointing out that is due to a lack of opportunities for contact.
When it comes to the reasons for this, less than a quarter of all the groups surveyed said it was due to a lack of common ground while almost half blamed it on a lack of opportunities to intermingle.
On average, 58.2% of respondents agreed that certain activities, such as club membership, courses, social engagement, cultural events or leisure activities, had made their circle of acquaintances more diverse.
The survey found positive atttitudes to diversity, with 56% of those polled at least partly of the opinion that a community can tolerate major differences, while 69% believe diverse perspectives and life experiences lead to better decisions. Almost half believe it is important that minorities are represented politically and 82% are at least partly of the opinion that diversity helps shape Switzerland.
The survey also found that nearly two-thirds of respondents partly believe that greater diversity among acquaintances would be good for the people living in Switzerland and more than half of them consider the increasing diversity of recent decades as positive.
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Respondents were also asked if they try to express themselves in an inclusive manner, with 68% of them saying they do.
The nationwide survey was commissioned as part of Migros Culture Percentage’s #diversityinitiative to find out what the real situation of diversity is in the country.
In light of the findings, Migros Culture Percentage has launched a large-scale participatory initiative to raise awareness of diversity among the Swiss public.
The initiative, which has a dedicated webpage, seeks to encourage the population to create new impulses or opportunities for encounters in everyday life.
“Even if diversity in interpersonal relationships can still be improved in Switzerland, the interest and awareness of the population is tangible in all regions of the country. The foundations of a diverse society are laid so that we can be dissimilar together and move forward on these foundations,” Migros Culture Percentage said.
Migros is also asking customers to submit ideas on how to foster the community spirit into everyday life. Those submitting ideas stand a chance to win one of 100 Migros vouchers worth CHF 100.
Migros Culture Percentage is invests over 121 million francs each year in cultural and social initiatives. A funding vehicle, it forms part of the umbrella brand Migros Commitment, which includes two other funding vehicles: Migros Pioneer Fund and Migros Aid Fund.
