This is a novelty, an index never measured until now and which, however, conditions all the others, or almost: municipal action in favor of gender equalitygauged by the distribution of powers, the responsibilities entrusted to elected officials, the relationship with associations and, less expected, the communication strategy aimed at women.
Identifying women among local elected officials: an insufficient number
To assess political commitment to gender equality and women’s rights at the city level, there were no indicators. We therefore had to invent three, original and new ones. The first focuses on parity within political and economic personnel local, mayors, parliamentarians, presidents of metropolises, chambers of commerce and industry, regional and departmental councils. To do this, we simply counted the women.
The overall result is not great, starting with the mayors: out of the 50 largest cities in France, only twelve are headed by a woman. More broadly, 20% of the mayors of the 34,935 French municipalities are women. The room for improvement is not negligible…
The law of August 4
To construct the second indicator, we counted deputy mayors in charge of gender equality or women’s rights where there are any, assessed the importance of the portfolios allocated to deputies and, more unusual, estimated the visibility given on the municipal website to the annual equality report. Since the law of August 4, 2014, it is compulsory for communities with more than 20,000 inhabitants. They must also put “implement a policy for equality between women and men according to an integrated approach”…but not necessarily make the results known.
The third indicator judges the richness of the city’s website on subjects relating to women’s rights, the fight against domestic violence and initiatives taken by the municipality in terms of gender equality.
Which cities have a female mayor?
Nantes, ParisStrasbourg, Lille and Le Mans stand out from the crowd. The first four are led by a woman, which is obviously not a coincidence; all five are left-wing, green or socialist municipalities, more attached by essence and vocation to the feminist fight than their right-wing counterparts, including Angers and Mulhouse are the only representatives among the twenty best-rated cities in this part of our list. At the other end of the prism, where municipalities are least committed to their constituents, we find Orléans, Colmar, Saint-Etienne, Antibes and Caen, five cities run by right-wing majorities. Obviously, on these subjects, the old left-right divide is still relevant.
“There are spaces for conviviality”
“It is a dynamic city with activities of all kinds: culture, arts, politics… In terms of volunteering, the agenda is very rich. We are near the sea and the countryside. The city is green and wooded. After Covid, “edible gardens” were born. Fruits and vegetables are grown there, redistributed free of charge to those in need. There are convivial spaces, like the Green Star, a convergence of green flows with benches and picnic areas.“
Béatrice, 68 years old, Nantes.