Work and Gender
Migros employs tens of thousands of women and mothers. It is almost impossible to imagine the success of the company without the work of women. Full-time employment, many years of service to the company and a high level of professional experience are not exclusive male domains at Migros. As a result, there is a higher level of actual equality within the company.
Gender structure
In 2012 the Migros Group employed 54'130 women and 33'331 men; the proportion of women was just under 62%. The proportion of female employees within the Migros Group is therefore well above the average for the Swiss economy (around 45%). In the three strategic business units Cooperative Retailing, Retail and Travel, which employ 84% of the Migros Group's entire workforce, the proportion of women is even higher (between 65% and 76%). Migros thereby makes an important contribution towards the employment of women in Switzerland. Migros supports the necessary compatibility of career and family with a broad range of family policy measures and benefits.
Chart Employees by gender
Employment structure
Employment level
The ratio of full-time and part-time employment has been stable for a long time within the Migros Group: 53% of employees work full-time, and 47% part-time. This runs contrary to the trend in the Swiss labour market, which has been characterised by a steady decrease in full-time positions and an increase in part-time positions for men and women over the past ten years. With a part-time employment rate that is above average in comparison, Migros supports the compatibility of family and career.
Chart Employment level
Employment level
Full- and part-time employment by gender
In Switzerland, part-time work continues to be performed primarily by women: around 80% of part-time positions and 30% of full-time positions are occupied by women. At Migros, the proportion of full-time female employees stands at 44%; however, part-time work also remains an important factor for the employment of women and the compatibility of career and family within the Migros Group.
Chart Full- and part-time employment by gender
Part-time employment rate
Only one in eight men in Switzerland work part-time (13%), in contrast to more than half of all women (58%). Within the Migros Group, the part-time employment rate for men (just under 22%) is more than 50% higher than in the Swiss economy as a whole.
Chart Part-time employment rate
Age structure
Distribution by age groups
The average age of Migros employees fell slightly to 39.2 years in 2012. The distribution is relatively even across all employed age groups, from trainees through to retirement age. This age structure promotes and supports cooperation across generations, which is an important part of the corporate culture.
Chart Distribution by age groups
Distribution by age groups
Distribution by gender
The percentage of male and female employees per age group is virtually identical. The fact that the proportion of women is even slightly higher in the age group from 15 to 40 years shows that women are able to combine career and family effectively if corresponding support measures are in place.
Chart Distribution by gender
Percentage per length of service group by gender (Chart)
Employees usually remain loyal to Migros. Some 58% of men and 55% of women have worked at Migros for more than five years, whereby men stay with the company slightly longer on average (10.8 years) than women (9.2 years). With these figures, Migros lies above the average for Switzerland, where 54% of employees have been with the same employer for five years or more.
Percentage within length of service group by gender (Chart)
For up to 20 years of service, the proportion of women (60%) to men (just under 40%) has remained more or less equal. This proportion reflects the gender distribution within Migros and also proves that women do not necessarily need to interrupt their career to bring up children.