In 2017 in France, employees in the private sector received an average income 28.5% lower than that of men, according to an INSEE study published Thursday. Wage inequalities which increase throughout the career. Especially for mothers. "The gap exists from the start of working life. And we see a real dropout at the time of maternity, and not only in terms of salary elsewhere, in terms of career too", observes Catherine Bonneville-Morawski, of mixed consultancy firm Eragina.
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Mothers suffer from preconceived ideas
Women have less easy access to positions of responsibility, and particularly employees with children, so that the wage gap between fathers and mothers is much greater than between women and men without children, shows INSEE . In full-time equivalent (FTE), that is to say for the same volume of work, the wage gap between women and men is reduced to 16.8%. Women with more than two children, those with the highest qualifications and those with the most professional experience are the most penalized.
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Some women are "shelved", others suffer from preconceived ideas: they are "less available", or "less committed". They are therefore given "less responsibility" and "we are not necessarily going to increase them", explains Catherine Bonneville-Morawski.
"There is a real brake on the corporate side"
If the wage gap is 28.5% on average, it should be noted that at the same job and hourly volume, it narrows to 5.3% in the private sector in 2017. "There are companies that are doing really great things on the subject to prevent that from happening, "she notes. "But we must not forget that the economic fabric in France is not only the CAC 40. It is a lot of other companies where we stay on it. So there is a real brake on the side of companies."
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In the public service, the FTE gap is smaller: 12.4% in 2017. However, it narrows less quickly. Working hours, which are generally lower for women, the preponderant access to so-called "feminized" sectors or jobs, and the low presence of women in high-income positions explain the persistence of wage inequalities, according to the study by the 'Insee.