Gender

            Today I want to tell you a little about gender roles and gender differences in France.  I would say that in general, the French value the importance of work and consider it to be one of the most important aspects of a person’s life, especially for men (Thébaud, 2010, p. 342).  Coinciding with that belief, men in France earn more, on average, than women (Willsher, 2014).  French studies have found that the pay gap between single men and women is only 9% (Willsher, 2014).  That is, the average woman earns 9% less than the average male in France.  Yet, the gender difference in earnings increases dramatically when examining the pay gap between couples.  French women in a relationship earn 42% less than their husbands or boyfriends (Willsher, 2014).  I see these data in real life with my own parents.  Both work full-time: My mom is a chef and my dad is an engineer.  Nevertheless, my father earns significantly more that my mother.  I think the gap, both in my parents’ case and in general, has to do with gender role expectations.  Men are expected to be the breadwinners, and women are expected to stay home and take care of the children.  As I said earlier, my mom took three years off of work to take care of me when I was little.  Although she received her job back after those three years, she is a brilliant chef and probably could have further advanced her career during that time instead of it remaining stagnant.  Another interesting point is the division of housework.  My mom does the majority of the housework in my family, but my dad pitches in when he can.  I would say in general women do significantly more housework than men, not unlike the United States.

            That being said, the movement towards gender equality is growing stronger and stronger and conditions for women in France are much better that some other European countries.  The percentage of French women that worked outside the home in 2007 was 64.1%, slightly above the European Union average (“Women in French society today”, 2007).  In the past decade and a half, multiple laws have been passed to combat gender discrimination in the workplace.  Most notably is probably the Equal Pay Act, which was passed in 2006 (“Women”, 2007).  Although the female to male ratio for representation in French Parliament is only 1:4, laws have been passed to encourage gender equality in political representation (United Nations Development Programme, 2013;“Women”, 2007).

            I think another interesting aspect of French culture that says something about gender roles is the view of homosexuality.  In France, same-sex marriage and adoptions for gay couples are legalized.  Nevertheless, a recently saw a survey saying that France is the most homophobic country in Western Europe.  Nearly 29% of respondents said that they would not want a homosexual neighbor (Clarke, 2013).  I can definitely see this among my friends.  The vast majority of them (and myself) have no problem with homosexuality, but I do know a few people who consider it morally wrong.  Generally speaking, I would say that younger people are more accepting of homosexuality than older people.  One of my good friends is gay, and I know sometimes it can be hard for him.  It’s not too uncommon for him to run into someone who insults him or gives him a menacing look.  Still, most people have no problem with it; in addition, more and more laws are being passed to ensure equal rights for homosexuals and same-sex couples.

            I’ll finish my post with a video my friends showed me about sexism in today’s society.  The concept of the video is very interesting: it portrays a society in which the gender roles of men and women are switched.  It’s a bit vulgar, but it is a very interesting take on the role of gender within French culture.

References

Clarke, W. (2013, May 17). France least tolerant country in western europe of homosexuals. The Telegraph. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/ europe/france/10065168/France-least-tolerant-country-in-Western-Europe-of-homosexuals.html

Masculinity, bargaining, and breadwinning: Understanding men’s housework in the cultural context of paid work. Gender & Society, 24(3), 330-354. doi:10.1177/0891243210369105

United Nations Development Programme. 2013. Human development report. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Willsher, K. (2014, March 6). French married women earn far less than male partners. The Guardian. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/06/ french-married-women-earn-less-male-partners

Women in french society today. (2007, March 13). Retrieved from http://www.ambafrance-uk.org/Women-in-French-society-todayThébaud, S. (2010).