Four hundred euros: this is the gap between the salary of a midwife and that of a hospital engineer after twenty years of work. With comparable functions, complexities and responsibilities, the professions, depending on whether they are occupied mainly by men or women, are not subject to the same financial recognition.
This is the result of research carried out by the two economists Séverine Lemière and Rachel Silvera, and developed in their contribution to the scientific mediation project “What do we know about work? ” of Interdisciplinary laboratory for public policy evaluation (Liepp), broadcast in collaboration with Presses de Sciences Po on the Employment channel of the Lemonde.fr site.
Using two examples of professions, that of midwife and that of hospital engineer, the two economists compare the content of the work and establish the inequalities of treatment. To do this, they carried out a study of 7,000 people in the sector “care and connection to others” between September 2021 and December 2022.
The principle of “equal work, equal pay” enshrined in the labor code (article L. 3221-4) has been measured since the Roudy law of 1983, from “work which requires a comparable set of professional knowledge consecrated by a title, diploma or professional practice, abilities resulting from acquired experience, responsibilities and physical or nervous load”.
Two possible grades, compared to four
The midwife and the hospital engineer are both category A professions in the civil service and at bac + 5 level. Complexity of the activity, responsibilities, organizational requirements are important in the two professions observed. In her daily life, a midwife is at the same time childcare worker, nurse, caregiver and hospital service agent, social worker for the most vulnerable, and psychologist in the most dramatic situations, describe the authors.
The role of midwives is both technical and organizational: they can monitor several deliveries at the same time, while being required to supervise a service. The hospital engineer, for his part, directs, coordinates and controls the various activities of the technical services, develops and manages programs. He ensures the maintenance of equipment. Problem solving is also at the heart of his work.
However, upon reading the professional benchmarks and after analyzing the salary scales, remuneration diverges more and more with seniority, always in favor of engineers. And career progression plateaus earlier for midwives, who only have two possible grades, compared to four for hospital engineers.
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