A/HRC/45/15/Add.1 been slowly decreasing since the 1970s, in 2016 the gap amounted to 16.7 per cent in the public sector; in the private sector it was 19.6 per cent.29 53. Signatories of a charter for equal pay in the public sector, launched in September 2016, agreed to carry out regular checks to ensure the respect of equal pay within the public administration, within corporations close to the public administration and within companies receiving public procurement or subsidies. As at September 2019, the federal Government, 16 cantons and 79 communes had signed the charter. 54. The Special Rapporteur was encouraged to hear about the above-mentioned measures and plans for measures to address the pay gap. He believes that those measures have the potential to give positive results, and he will follow with great interest their implementation. 55. During the visit, civil society organizations raised with the Special Rapporteur gender-based concerns, indicating that disadvantages and discrimination continued to affect people’s everyday lives and presented legal and structural problems. Switzerland does not yet have a national equal opportunities strategy, and gender-role stereotyping remains widespread in Switzerland. 56. The Special Rapporteur was informed that career choice was another area that continued to be heavily influenced by socially established norms. Although the Vocational and Professional Education and Training Act, which sets out equal opportunities as one of its stated objectives, has been in force for many years, the federal Government has yet to launch a project that specifically promotes the achievement of gender equality at every education level. Similarly, many cantons have still not embedded the issue in their education laws. 57. One of the obstacles to women’s equal participation in the labour market is the lack of sufficient early childhood care and its substantial cost. According to OECD, publicsector spending on early childhood education and care in Switzerland is just 0.2 per cent of gross domestic product,30 while the average in OECD countries is 0.6 per cent. According one organization, parents pay between 38 and 66 per cent of childcare costs themselves. Some women find it more expensive to work than to stay home and care for their children. 58. In addition, more than half of all women are employed part-time, putting them at a disadvantage in terms of further education, training and social security, and ultimately leading to the reception of lower pensions at the end of their working lives. While the opportunity to work part-time can help support a balance between family life and work, it is concerning that it is almost exclusively women who avail themselves of such opportunities, thus perpetuating harmful gender stereotypes regarding women’s role in economic life. Further, many women work low-wage jobs in sectors that lack security. This is particularly true of women affected by multiple discrimination and of women with disabilities. 59. Some organizations have raised the concern that female migrants more often than not find themselves employed in low-skilled and low-paid jobs, because skills or qualifications obtained in their countries of origin are not being recognized. Migrant women often face legal problems, in relation to domestic violence and/or their residence status. Unlike the costs of abortion, the costs of contraceptives and of reproductive health care are not covered by mandatory health insurance – a fact that makes female migrants an especially vulnerable group. A low level of education, stressful work situations and a possibly irregular or unclear residence status are all factors that can contribute to a deterioration in the health of mothers and children from a migrant background. 29 30 12 See www.ebg.admin.ch/ebg/fr/home/themes/travail/egalite-salariale/bases/chiffres-et-faits.html and www.bfs.admin.ch/bfsstatic/dam/assets/8266035/master. See www.oecd.org/education/school/44975840.pdf.