- French scourge, discrimination on the job market is both felt by those who are victims of it and proven by testings.
- The Economic Analysis Council proposes an arsenal of measures that could make a positive difference.
In times of economic crisis, when the job market tightens, discrimination in hiring is likely to flourish. And the economic context of France after the health crisis is therefore a breeding ground for them. However, discrimination in employment is already very intense in France, as highlighted by a study * of the Economic Analysis Council revealed this Tuesday. "First of all, France is one of the European Union countries where discrimination is most acutely felt by the population, whether on the basis of ethnic origin, sexual orientation , religion, disability, age or gender, "notes Stéphane Carcillo, economist at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and member of the Economic Analysis Council.
This feeling was reinforced by CV testings carried out for twenty years in France, which demonstrated the difficulties of access to employment for certain populations. "With an equivalent candidacy, the probability for white French people to be invited to a job interview is 50 to 100% higher than that of French people from non-white minorities", underlines the CAE study. Testings which also reveal that seniors are on average 50% less likely than young people to get a job interview.
A cost for public finances
In addition to the disastrous human consequences they entail, this discrimination also has an economic cost. Because people excluded from the labor market or earning lower wages during their career will necessarily pay less tax, which will affect public revenue. "However, a modest reduction in the differences in employment rates and wages between the discriminated populations and the others would yield 7% of French GDP in twenty years, or 150 billion euros," says Stéphane Carcillo.
And by acting on several levers, it would be entirely possible to reduce these obstacles. Example with women, who with equal working conditions (age, type of contract, working time, sector of activity and size of company) have an average wage gap of 10.5% with their male counterparts, according to Ministry of Labor data. And who find it more difficult to access promotions during their career. "It will be difficult to go further in the fight against these inequalities if we do not change what is happening at home and if we do not involve fathers more in the education of their children," comments Stéphane Carcillo. To this end, the CAE recommends extending paternity leave to four weeks, compared to eleven days currently. Because several European studies show that a longer paternity leave has an effect on the sharing of domestic tasks thereafter.
Encourage companies to recruit seniors via financial aid
For those over 45, often accused by recruiters of being less flexible and of having obsolete skills, “you have to unclip their personal training account and create a hiring aid for companies that would recruit a senior in job search for more than twelve months ”, recommends Stéphane Carcillo. A way to boost their employability and encourage companies to hire them on CDI or CDD for more than six months.
Some immigrant youth suffer from stereotypes from recruiters, who charge them for not mastering the codes. “We need to set up tutorials on school time to improve their self-esteem, explain to them which sectors could interest them and involve professionals who could serve as role models for them. And help them strengthen their socio-behavioral skills, ”explains Stéphane Carcillo.
Act on recruiters upstream
The fight against discrimination on the job market must also involve the companies themselves. Hence the idea of the CAE to extend the obligation to train non-discrimination recruiters to more companies. But above all to help them measure the situation of minorities at home. "It creates a" diversity and inclusion "index defined by the public authorities, making it possible to promote the most inclusive employers," recommends Marie-Anne Valfort. Employees would be invited to respond anonymously to a questionnaire, specifying their "feeling of belonging" and describing their background in the company. This would allow for comparisons. Then, "only employers whose index exceeds a certain threshold would be classified," says the CAE study. And could make their results public.
And to better support employees who are victims of discrimination, "it is necessary to make training mandatory for members of the Social and Economic Committee (CSE)," insists Marie-Anne Valfort, economist at the Paris School of Economics. But for this scourge of discrimination at work to be better understood in French society, it would also have to be better analyzed by INSEE. Certainly, ethnic statistics are still prohibited, "but it would be necessary that the perceived origin of individuals be integrated into major surveys by INSEE," suggestsMarie-Anne Valfort.
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* Fighting discrimination on the labor market, Economic Analysis Council, June 2020.
- Hires
- Wage inequality
- Society
- Discrimination
- Job
- Employment
- Economy