More than 84 % of voters opposed the “citizen service initiative,” and none of the country’s 26 cantons supported it, far short of the thresholds needed to pass. The Washington Post further reports that meanwhile, the inheritance and donation tax, envisioned to levy a 50 % rate on sums above 50 million Swiss francs, was rejected by over 78 % of voters.

Proponents of mandatory service for women argued that expanding national service to all citizens would strengthen social cohesion and the country’s resilience in the face of climate disasters, energy shortages or broader security threats arising from instability in Europe, reports the euro news. They stressed that civic tasks from environmental protection to elder care and food security could benefit from a broader base of participants.

However, critics, including the government and many lawmakers, warned the move would impose an unfair burden on women, many of whom already shoulder a disproportionate share of unpaid care work, household duties, and childcare. They cautioned that pulling thousands of young women into service could disrupt the labour market and impose heavy costs, doubling both staffing needs and budgetary outlays.

While supporters had framed the measure as a potential step toward gender equality, by making civil duty universal regardless of gender, opponents argued that in practice it risked deepening gender inequity by layering new obligations on top of the unpaid domestic and care work that women already do.

Switzerland currently obliges only men to carry out military service or civil-defence service; women may volunteer but are not compelled. Roughly 35,000 men complete mandatory service each year, a number that would have likely doubled had the proposal passed.

The dual rejection, of both mandatory service for women and the ultra-wealth tax, underscores a strong voter sentiment against expanding compulsory civic burdens or overhauling fiscal policy. Critics of the citizenship-service initiative now warn that the landslide defeat could hamper broader efforts to reform Switzerland’s civic-service system, and, in some eyes, signals a backlash against attempts to redefining gender roles under the guise of equality.