Overview of inequalities between qualified men and women in France

According to a 2015 study undertaken by the Dares, since the 1980s, the share of women in higher intellectual occupations has increased in France. However, the study states that the gap between the share of women and men in management positions remains significant. What is the current state of gender inequalities among skilled workers? 

An increase in the number of female executives since the 1980s

In France, the share of managers and higher intellectual professionals in total employment has more than doubled over the past 40 years. In 1982, there were 1.8 million workers in management positions (8% of total employment), compared to 5.2 million in 2019 (19% of total employment).

Since 1982, the share of women occupying management and higher intellectual positions in total employment has increased more rapidly than the share of men. In 1982, 4% of employed women were managers and higher intellectual professionals (compared with 10.3% of men), but in 2000, 9.7% of women were managers (compared with 16.2% of men) and 16.8% in 2019 (compared with 21.6% of men).

However, men still make up the majority of managers. The Insee indicates that in 2019, women represented 42% of managers and higher intellectual professionals (compared with 58% of men). Women are particularly under-represented among engineers and technical managers (23.2%). 

Wage gaps are today more pronounced in skilled occupations 

According to the French Ministry in charge of equality between men and women, diversity and equality of opportunity, in 2016, the wage gap between women and men was 19% in all professional categories, and 20.6% among managers (compared to 16.8% among blue-collar workers and 14.2% among mid-level occupations). Managers are therefore the occupational category with the highest wage gaps.

Similarly, according to the Insee, in 2017, the net wage gap increased with the level of education. This gap was higher for college graduates (29.4%) than workers with a high school degree or up to two years of higher education (17.6%) and workers who did not graduate from highschool (15.8%).

Women are still less represented in the highest positions in the civil service

According to data provided by the French Ministry in charge of equality between men and women, diversity and equality of opportunity, while women are predominant in the French civil service, they remain less represented in senior management and executive positions, and their salaries remain far below those of men in the highest pay grades.

In 2018, women were less represented in senior management and executive positions in the three types of civil services (hospital, state and local levels). While women represented 56% of the State civil service in 2018, the share of women was only 34.5% in the senior management and executive positions of this type of civil service. Similarly, while women represented 61% of the territorial civil service workforce in 2018, the share of women in senior management and executive positions in this type of civil service was only 32.6%. Finally, while women represented 78% of the hospital civil service in 2018, the share of women in the senior management and executive positions in this type of civil service was 49.1%. 

Women's pay remained far below that of men among the highest paid civil service employees in 2018. Among the top 0.5 percent of civil service payrolls, 71.6 percent were male. Similarly, 65.6% of the civil servants in the top 1% of the civil service were men.

Although the gap between the proportion of women and men in management and executive positions has narrowed since 1982, it remains significant. Today, the wage gap is very pronounced in skilled occupations and women are still less represented in the highest levels of the workforce.