Statues draped in purple in Neuchatel, blocked traffic in Lausanne and a massive clenched fist feminist symbol projected onto a skyscraper in Basel: women across Switzerland went on strike Friday for equal pay.

They staged various actions to vent their frustration with persistent gender discrimination and wage gaps in the wealthy Alpine nation.

The strike comes nearly three decades after women held the country's first nationwide strike for equal pay.

Women take part in a nation-wide women's strike for wage parity today in the Swiss capital of Bern. It is exactly 28 years after the staging of a first strike to protest against persistent inequalities

The protest is set to last the whole of the working day today, with events including pram marches, whistle concerts and giant picnics planned across the country, although it has centred on the cities of Basel, Lausanne, Zurich and Bern

Huge demonstrations are planned for Friday evening in several cities, including in front of the government headquarters in Bern. Dozens of women hold up a banner in a city square as another sign reading 'respect' hangs behind them

The cathedral in Lausanne is lit up in purple last night, the official color of the movement, at the start of a day-long nationwide women's strike aimed at highlighting the country's poor record on defending the rights of women

Events planned throughout the day range from pram marches to whistle concerts and giant picnics.

Huge demonstrations are planned Friday evening in several cities, including in front of the government headquarters in Bern.

Unions and rights groups organising the events are hoping to see a sea of purple - the colour chosen to show solidarity with the cause - but with thunder storms and rain drenching a country where work stoppages are rare, the turnout remains uncertain.

In Lausanne, the events kicked off overnight, with women ringing the bells of the cathedral, which was lit up in purple, and lighting a "bonfire of joy".

A tape reading closed due to women's strike is seen outside the federal palace during a nation-wide women's strike for wage parity. Women in Switzerland on average still earn 20 percent less than men

National Councillor Margret Kiener-Nellen (centre with boxing gloves) takes part in a nation-wide women's strike. Parliamentarians took a 15-minute break from their discussions to mark the occasion, with many of the MPs and at least one government minister dressed in purple and sporting feminist badges

By morning, 500 people gathered for a massive breakfast celebration, blocking traffic on one of the town's main bridges.

In Zurich, demonstrators pulled a giant, pink clitoris perched on a cart through the city, while in Basel they projected the feminist fist symbol onto the skyscraper headquarters of pharmaceutical giant Roche.

And in Bern, parliamentarians took a 15-minute break from their discussions to mark the occasion, with many of the MPs and at least one government minister dressed in purple and sporting feminist badges.

The events come exactly 28 years after half a million women walked out of their workplaces or homes across Switzerland to protest persistent inequalities, on June 14, 1991. That was 10 years after equality between the sexes was enshrined in the Swiss constitution.

Woman hold aloft a huge mikeshift tampon in front of the country's federal palace in Bern. The events come exactly 28 years after half a million women walked out of their workplaces or homes across Switzerland to protest persistent inequalities, on June 14, 1991

But the organisers of Friday's events say things have barely improved since then, insisting women need to demand "more time, more money, more respect".

Women in Switzerland on average still earn 20 percent less than men.

And for men and women with equal qualifications, the wage gap remains nearly eight percent, according to the national statistics office.

"Wage equality has not been achieved. That is a good reason to go on strike," Ruth Dreyfuss, who in 1998 became Switzerland's first female president, told the RTS broadcaster Friday.

People protest with a sit-in on a bridge. Organisers have called upon women to snub their jobs and housework for the entire day to help raise awareness about the vital contribution women make across society

Riding the wave of the global #MeToo movement, a new generation of women is attacking the lingering issues of discrimination, harassment and wage inequality with renewed vigour.

Organisers have called upon women to snub their jobs and housework for the entire day to help raise awareness about the vital contribution women make across society.

In some towns, nurseries are closed, while schools are ensuring only minimum service to allow the mainly female staff and teachers to take part in the day's events.

For those women unable to take a full day, the organisers urge them to at least pack their things and leave by 3:24 pm.

"After that, women work for free," said Anne Fritz, the main organiser of the strike and a representative of USS, an umbrella organisation that groups 16 Swiss unions.

Back in 1991, one in seven women in the country took part in the strike.

In Lausanne, the events kicked off overnight, with women ringing the bells of the cathedral, which was lit up in purple, and lighting a 'bonfire of joy'

Hundreds of people gather near a bonfire in Lausanne on Thursday night before most women planned to take of the day to protest over pay parity

That was a remarkable turnout given that work stoppages have been extremely rare in Switzerland since employers and unions signed the "Peace at Work" convention in 1937. It states that differences should be worked out through negotiation rather than strikes.

Back then, many women were blocked from participating in the strike, and organisers fear a repeat Friday, with the country's main employers' organisation flatly opposed to the action.

Thursday's strike was born out of frustration at a bid to change the law to impose more oversight over salary distribution, which passed through the Swiss parliament last year.

The final text only applied to companies with more than 100 employees - affecting fewer than one percent of employers - and failed to include sanctions for those that allow persistent gender pay gaps.

Gaining recognition of women's rights has been a drawn-out process in Switzerland, which was one of the last countries in Europe to grant women the right to vote, in 1971.