Gender equality, where do we stand?

In France, as in most OECD countries, over 60% of higher education graduates are women. Given their level of qualification, which for forty years has been higher on average than that of men, we can only be surprised at their under-representation in positions of responsibility, not to mention the persistent pay and promotion gaps that characterise their careers. In the European Union, for example, only 28% of managerial 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 walks of life, public and private, in politics and research. Everywhere, as one moves up the hierarchy, women become rarer. At a time when 50% of companies are looking for employees, understanding how to combat the obstacles that hinder their careers is a major challenge for our economies.