Between the Covid-19 pandemic, geopolitical conflicts and the increase in the cost of living, politicians seem to have relegated the issue of gender equality to the background. This is the finding of World Economic Forum 2022 ranking (or WEF, for World Economic Forum) on professional equality between women and men, published on Wednesday July 13, and where France occupies only the 15e square.
In 2022, the gap between women and men is far from closed and, according to WEF experts, it will take another hundred and thirty-two years to achieve this on a global scale. If this figure was one hundred and thirty-six in 2021, in particular due to the Covid-19 pandemic, for years it has not reduced significantly, and the WEF does not record any major progress in the fight against inequalities.
Since 2014, France has also stagnated in the ranking: if it has gained one rank compared to the 2021 ranking, it has lost three compared to 2018. A constant oscillation which annoys NGOs. “We are still at the same stage, when we were promised that gender equality would be the top priority for the five-year term. Worse, we were promised it twice”criticizes Valentine Viard, president of the NGO Business & Professional Women France, which campaigns for professional equality.
From training to the labor market, inequalities persist: although France is on the first step of the podium in terms of education, women are overrepresented among graduates of health (74%), arts and humanities (70%), while they remain largely absent from engineering (26%) and information and communication technologies (16.5%).
“Strictly apply the law”
Unsurprisingly, these differences in treatment with men follow them into working life. On the labor market, there is still a long way to go to achieve equality between the sexes: in addition to being more likely to be hired part-time than men, in France women still receive only 75% of the salary of their male counterpart.
Today, the main thorn in the side of France remains the lack of indicators, confides Valentine Viard. “Everything that cannot be counted cannot be controlled. This is why we need figures on recruitment, salaries and maternity leave. Then will come the time for sanctions.she says.
The ambition of the NGO: to hoist France into the top 5 countries in terms of professional equality by the end of the five-year term. But to be able to compete with Iceland, first in the ranking for the thirteenth year in a row, “we must stop tolerance and apply the laws strictly”chants the president, alluding to the Génisson law (2001) or the Rixain law (2021) on equality between women and men in companies.
A major challenge, at a time when the shadow of a step back hangs over Europe. “The economic and social consequences of the pandemic and geopolitical conflicts have halted progress. They have worsened the situation of women and risk creating permanent scars in the labor market”, regrets Saadia Zahidi, director general of the WEF, quoted in the study. Especially since with the inflation and the energy crisis that have been hitting Europe for months, the fear of neglect on the part of political leaders and of a regression in terms of gender equality intensifies.