A year after these commitments are at a standstill

I said to the social partners that they were given until 2009 to find a solution to put an end to the inequality of wages between men and women. "This sentence of Nicolas Sarkozy date of March 8, 2008. That day, the President of the Republic had also announced that he "would vote by the Parliament of the financial sanctions as of 2009", "payable as of early 2010", as his Minister of labour of the time, Xavier Bertrand had indicated. A year after, these commitments are at a standstill.

For this new March 8 women's day, policymakers have made profile low, the image of Brice Hortefeux, Minister of labour, who sent barred to the proposed Act of the MP UMP Marie-Jo Zimmerman to impose a quota of 40 per cent women on the boards of Directors of the companies (see below). The figures are yet known and very largely disappointing, particularly on the part of wages: in companies of 10 employees or more competitive sector, the average total gross remuneration of women is 27 below those of men (1). If we stick to the gross hourly wage, the gap increases to 16. Finally, taking into account characteristics of identical employment (degree, seniority and responsibility level) identical, the wage gap remains 11, and this for several years.

Now more graduates

A gap that can result from individual effects (career breaks, family situation), but also unequal and discriminatory practices. Will "If there are only about the cultural evolution of the company, be even a century to equal pay." This is not a natural tendency. "The Act is therefore more necessary than, but must be applied," analysis Rachel Silvera, lecturer at Paris-X, and specialist in gender issues.

These inequalities of remuneration are all the more shocking that women are now more graduates than men, as a study by the Insee published today (2). In 2007, 46 of women were holders of a Bachelor's degree, compared with 41 of men. However, women choose mostly channels for which the professional opportunities are more difficult and pay more weak (women represent including 75 of students in language, 26 of students in engineering schools).

A significant upturn

In fact, women are more affected by unemployment (8.5 of the women against 7.4 of men were unemployed in 2007), but the economic crisis, which struck priority industrial jobs, should be more victims among the men.

A significant upturn should still be noted on the political representativeness, especially when the Act forced the elections. This is the case of the municipal elections, where he is now imposed on Commons more of 3,500 inhabitants to compose lists where alternate candidates of both sexes. Result: about 48.8 of municipal councilors were women. But 86 of the mayors are men. Same progression from regional politicians, subject to the same rules of alternation: before 2004, only 27.5 of regional elected representatives were women, they are 47.6 today. Evidence that the constraint imposed by the act causes a beneficial effect in many less time than it takes to attitudes to evolve themselves.