Excluded women: Article 213 mandated women's obedience to husbands, Article 1124 denied legal rights to married women, minors, and mentally-retarded people.
Educational Foundations
1762: Jean-Jacques Rousseau's Emile promoted women's education as relative to men.
Progress Toward Legal Rights for Women
1920: Women couldn’t unionize without husbands' approval.
1944: Gained the right to vote.
1945: Abolished the notion of a separate feminine salary.
1954: Abolition of marital supervision over finances and work.
1970: Transition from paternal to parental authority in texts.
1985: Genuine shared management of estate.
Persistent Inequalities in Work
2013: Women earned 25% less than men in France.
Only 1/3 explained by differences in work volume.
Women earn 10% less for the same skills and hours.
2015 Statistics:
Men as executives: 20.5%; Women: 14.7%.
Temporary contracts: Women 12.3%; Men 8.5%.
Unqualified jobs: Women 26.6%; Men 14.5%.
Higher probability for women to be paid minimum wage.
Underemployment among women: 9.7%; Men: 3.7%.
Education: 62.2% of working women graduated vs. 51.7% of men.
Girls perceive themselves as less brilliant than boys from age 6.
Gender Gaps in Education
2015 PISA study: Significant gap in math performance among high-achieving 15-year-olds.
Girls often more anxious and less confident in mathematics.
Violence and Harassment
2014: A woman died every 2.7 days due to domestic violence.
216,000 women are victims of violence annually.
2015 study: 100% of female public transport users faced harassment/assault.
Genetic and Social Perspectives
400,000 people in France with atypical chromosomes showing complexity beyond binary gender.
Inequalities are social constructs, not genetic inevitabilities.
Research and Developments in the 21st Century
Inclusivity and its limits: Women included in the public space as women, not equals.
Role divisions: Family vs. significant power domains still gendered.
Legacy of sexism and racism, necessitates critical reflection.
Policy Recommendations
Need public service for young children to support women's employment, following Scandinavian examples.
Address gender roles in textbooks and language.
Adopt neutral pronouns to avoid categorical expectations.
Critique historic gender norms, like the predominance of masculine forms.
Move beyond binary categorizations toward notions like “siblinghood”.
Contemporary Work Divisions
Part-time work: Women 30.3%; Men 8.3%.
Civil service: 62% women but only 33% in management.
Media and Representation
Museums and media seldom feature works by women.
Awareness and Education
Importance of recognizing and addressing everyday inequalities.
Educational curriculum named 'maternelle' suggesting maternal bias.
Correcting perceptions of femininity and masculinity in education.
Conclusion
Strides in gender equality are evident but significant inequality persists.
Equality doesn’t negate differences; it embraces diversity fairly.