The cost of a male-dominated society

Despite the fact that for over 4 decades, French women have on average been more highly educated than men, they still earn 15% less than men for equivalent working hours. None of them hold the position of CEO in a CAC 40 company. In the European Union, only 28% of executive positions are held by women, and 16% of companies have no women on their management teams. This phenomenon of attrition, known as the “glass ceiling”, can be observed in all fields, public and private, in politics and research. Everywhere, as you move up the hierarchical ladder, women become increasingly rare. On the other hand, they are over-represented in part-time, poorly paid jobs with limited promotion prospects.

Gender inequalities begin at school and accumulate throughout the life cycle. Women abandon the digital and scientific fields in favour of less remunerative studies. For the same skills, they earn lower salaries. When children arrive, they do a greater share of unpaid domestic work, and are more likely than men to work part-time.

The Fondation des Femmes puts the cost of patriarchy at €118 billion a year, including the cost of sexist and sexual violence, as well as behaviours based on masculine codes. The cost of wage inequality represents a deficit of €5,420 per woman per year. So how can we offset the cost of patriarchy? How can we challenge gender norms to promote equal opportunities?