France

Birth of Women's Rights Movement in the 18th Century

The struggle for women's rights in France began in the 18th century during the French Revolution, when Olympe de Gouges (1748-1793) famously penned the “Declaration of the Rights of Woman and the Female Citizen” in 1791, demanding female equality and legal representation in response to the 1789 “Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.” De Gouges was guillotined in 1793 during the Reign of Terror. In 1776, guilds of tailors and seamstresses allowed women to join, while divorce was legalized in 1792 (only to be abolished in 1816, although it would once again be made legal in 1884). The first woman to be recognized with the Légion d'honneur-the highest award given by the French Republic for service to the nation-was Angelique Marie Joseph Duchemion who was given the honor by Louis-Napoleon, President of the Republic, in 1851. The demand for female suffrage began in the early 19th century, but women were not granted the vote in France until October 1944.

In the early 19th century, women accounted for one-third of the labor force (4.5 million women). By 1911, 36 percent of the workforce was female, and 50 percent of all women of working age worked. The decline of female employment between 1920 and 1945 leveled off and increased in the 1960s. In 2000, the total employment rates of women age 25 to 49 was 80.6 percent, broken down as follows: 87.7 percent of single women, 86.6 percent of married women with [Page 585]no children, 85.2 percent of married women with 1 child (under age 16), 75 percent of women with 2 children (under age 16), 51.1 percent of married women with more than 2 children (under age 16).

Women overall have a higher unemployment rate than men: in March 2000, the unemployment rate was 10 percent: 11.9 percent for women and 8.5 percent for men. In 2009, the unemployment rate for women was 8.5 percent while it was 7.4 percent for men. Women on average earn 25 percent less than men, which can be partially explained by the fact that women are more often part-time workers and work in lower paid fields. Yet even when employed in equal lines of work and with similar qualifications, a 7-percent pay gap persists between men and women. According to the Global Gender Gap Report of 2009, France was ranked 123st for wage equality for similar work. In 2009, women's estimated earned income was $24,529; men's was $39,731. This same report found that 64 percent of French women participated in the workforce while 74 percent of men did and that women formed 38 percent of legislators, senior officials, and managers as opposed to 62 percent of men. French Social Security provides a 16-week maternity leave, with 100 percent of wages paid (up to a ceiling).

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