On 22 November French labour minister, Muriel Pénicaud, and the secretary of state in charge of gender equality, Marlène Schiappa, presented to social partners a tool developed to gauge the size of gender pay gaps in the country. From the year 2022, companies that have not bridged their respective gender pay gaps will find themselves liable to pay a penalty. The plans will see all companies with more than 50 employees – which total 40,000 firms, according to the ministry – ultimately affected by the rules.
The French government is looking to combat inequality within companies. Since 1972, the country’s labour code has stated that “every employer must ensure equal pay between men and women for the same job or jobs of equal value”. However, gender pay gaps still exist in France. In 2014, the average annual full-time equivalent salary for women – which eliminates the impact of part-time work, most often performed by women – was 17% lower than that of men, according to France’s National Institute of
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