My husband deserves a medal.

Katja Berlinger is a lawyer, entrepreneur and holds an MBA from the prestigious INSEAD Business School. Through her company Swiss Medi Kids, she is committed to ensuring that every child receives the best possible medical care. For her, the choice of a partner and the joint decision on the division of tasks are crucial for balancing career and family. With her husband, she chose a model that was still unusual at the time – and she would like to award him a medal for this pioneering achievement today.

When you became pregnant for the first time, you also started your own business. Did you ever worry during that time that you might not be able to combine the two?

Of course. I worried again and again. My husband and I consciously restricted our standard of living during this phase to ensure that the pressure didn’t become too great.

Were there moments that were particularly challenging?

Being a mother is a wonderful but also demanding task that constantly reflects your own nature. It is important to set consistent boundaries. That is not always easy for me. I falter again and again because I would like to yield, but should not.

What helped you in such moments?

Knowing that only a good upbringing will make my children happy and good people.

Your husband primarily takes care of your two children. How did you as a couple make this decision?

I consider the choice of a life partner to be the most important decision in life. It determines how we spend our lives, how we live as a family and also how free one is and remains in choosing a career. My husband, after his own company was in very difficult circumstances, suggested that we try this model. However, we also agreed that we would regularly discuss whether this division of tasks still works for both of us. Meanwhile, we are very happy that my husband was able to join our family business Swiss Medi Kids. An essential part of our role distribution was the agreement that I would not take on mandates with long absences abroad and would mostly be at home in the evenings. I have kept to that.

How did your environment react? Was everyone open to this model, or were there also surprised looks?

At the beginning, our decision met with a lot of incomprehension, especially in my professional environment. Neighbors and parents of school friends were also surprised. Meanwhile, times have changed a bit. The decision has become part of everyday life and is respected. My husband was simply ahead of his time and has pioneered the idea that a reversed role distribution can work very well. For that, he should actually get a medal.

How do you manage your daily life as an entrepreneur and mother?

Since I have children, there are only two priorities in my life. My family and my entrepreneurial activities. Everything else takes a back seat for the time being while my daughters still like to spend time with us. We organize our family time without stress and without many appointments. Actually, I spend most evenings and weekends consciously with the family and I love doing so.

What hurdles are there in Switzerland for working mothers?

For entrepreneurs, the design of maternity leave is an absolute disaster. Anyone who continues to work in a very small capacity, for example, only attending one meeting, completely loses the claim to maternity compensation. It would be much more sensible to have the option to maintain a small workload and forgo part of the compensation. Anyone who, as a self-employed lawyer or board member, has to look for substitutes for four months runs a great risk of ultimately losing these mandates to their substitutes. It is also shocking that the regulation was recently changed for female politicians but not for all working mothers. The schools are still not based on block times, and children generally have very different schedules. Unfortunately, the social attitude toward working mothers is still very traditional.

What can be done against the discrimination of mothers in the professional environment?

Many mothers who decide to leave their jobs are not aware that their decision may cause their own poverty in old age. They will not be protected to the same extent in a divorce as under the old divorce law. If we were more aware that it would also be important for mothers to secure themselves for old age, the number of working mothers would increase. Then the special status could turn into a normal status. Against the backdrop of the shortage of skilled workers, we will not be able to avoid this anyway.

What role do good care services play for you and your family, or what role have they played?

Good childcare centers and meaningful after-hours care in schools are essential so that one can pursue their profession undisturbed and with a good feeling. 

What would you advise women who want to combine family and career? 

The most important thing is that the family clearly distributes roles within their own universe and sticks to them. The rules should be adapted depending on the age of the children and the situation of the partners, to ensure that all family members are mostly satisfied with the role distribution.

Childcare centers, whether individual ones or childcare networks like globegarden, are almost 100 % led by women in Switzerland. The initiatives often go back to mothers to this day. The caregivers in the centers are also predominantly women. Women seem to stand up for women here. How do you assess this situation?

I cannot judge this well, but in general, I believe in the power of diversity and hope that more young men will take up a profession in childcare. I am always pleased when a male medical practice assistant applies to us. Societally, we should move away from stereotypes in career choices. But this will only succeed if we also live it as an example.

You are the CEO of Swiss Medi Kids AG. Why is it important to advocate especially for the health of children and teenagers in Switzerland?

Unfortunately, the conditions for pediatric and adolescent medicine in Switzerland are absolutely inadequate. This is concerning for a country with our wealth. Changing this has become my calling, and we fight for it both with Swiss Medi Kids and politically.

The health sector is actually not very flexible. How do you create conditions at Swiss Medi Kids that facilitate the reconciliation of family and career?

We decided very early on to offer any form of part-time work. Today we have 150 employees who share 75 full-time positions. We offer part-time options from five percent, fixed days off or fixed service days. The workloads can be adjusted up or down at any time. Due to the size of the teams, we also have to ask people to step in, but it happens much less often because we can ask many people. The personnel administration costs us, of course, but this is how we successfully keep mothers in the team after maternity leave and do not lose them. My dream is to grow old with as many of our employees as possible.

Are there certain values that you want to pass on to your children?

The main reason to have children for me is to pass on values. That’s why it’s also important to consciously reserve time for the children despite being employed because otherwise, you can’t live out the important values.

“I consider the choice of a life partner to be the most important decision in life. It determines how we spend our lives, how we live as a family and also how free one is in choosing and remaining in their profession.”