Legislative and policy framework

Equality is one of the fundamental ideals underpinning the French constitution. The principle of gender equality was introduced in the preamble to the 1946 constitution, which, like the 1958 constitution, referenced the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and the Citizen.

France has a tradition of gender equality legislation in employment and professional life. Beginning with the law of 22 December 1972 on equal pay,[1] at least 12 laws were adopted on the topic prior to 2014, including the 1983 law on professional equality.[2] Although France has a record of gender equality legislation,[3] the law on professional equality between women and men, adopted in 2000, was the first law to integrate gender equality concerns outside gender equality policy areas.[4]

The French legislative and policy framework on gender equality has developed increasingly complex measures in the area of reproductive rights (a fundamental law legalising abortion was introduced in 1975, strengthened in 2022 and enshrined in the constitution in 2024).[5],[6],[7] The first comprehensive overarching legislation to promote gender equality in society as a whole was adopted only in 2014 with the Act on Real Equality between Women and Men.[8] The act summarises previous legislative steps and aims to enhance the effectiveness of implementation measures in various gender equality areas. Article 1 of the act also contains the first explicit reference to gender mainstreaming, referred to as an ‘integrated approach on gender’. It introduced an important change in the legislative framework on gender equality by promoting an ‘integrated and transversal approach to gender equality’, that is, the integration of gender equality into all policy fields. This law is a framework ruling that aims to assemble and reinforce all previous laws in the area of gender equality, across all spheres of life. It defines precisely the field of public policy dealing with gender equality and stipulates that gender equality is the prerogative of both national and local authorities.

France does not have a national strategy on gender equality per se. The 2023–2027 interministerial plan for gender equality (Plan interministériel pour l’égalité entre les femmes et les hommes (2023–2027))[9] is the national action plan guiding government action for gender equality. Adopting an intersectional approach to encompass other areas of discrimination, the interministerial plan guides the action of ministries over the coming years and is broken down into 161 measures divided into four priority areas.

Priority areas of the 2023–2027 interministerial plan for gender equality

  • Axis 1 – The fight against violence against women.
  • Axis 2 – Women’s health.
  • Axis 3 – Professional and economic equality.
  • Axis 4 – The culture of equality. 

There are several monitoring mechanisms in place to assess the progress of the action plan, including formal biannual interministerial meetings organised by the ministry in charge of gender equality to monitor the deployment of actions taken by all ministries concerned.

Structures

Governmental gender equality body

In 2024, the government appointed a delegated ministry responsible for gender equality and the fight against discrimination (Ministère délégué, chargé de l’Egalité entre les femmes et les hommes et la Lutte contre les discriminations), reporting to the Prime Minister’s Office. The deputy minister responsible for gender equality is a senior minister.[10]

Functions of the ministry responsible for gender equality and the fight against discrimination

  • Drafting gender equality policy for the government.
  • Drafting general anti-discrimination policy, covering sex and gender together with other grounds.
  • Coordinating and/or implementing decisions on gender equality.
  • Monitoring progress in achieving gender equality.
  • Cooperating with EU, international and national bodies.

The governmental budget for gender equality is EUR 70.4 million. The ministry responsible for gender equality and the fight against discrimination has 225 employees, with between 75 % and100 % of personnel time allocated to gender equality work.

At the national level, the Service for Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (SDFE) remains responsible for gender equality and mainstreaming under the General Directorate for Social Cohesion (Direction générale de la cohesion sociale) within the Ministry of Solidarity and Health. The SDFE promotes women’s rights and coordinates 26 regional and 100 district delegations, providing a robust network for implementing gender mainstreaming strategies across France. The influence of the SDFE varies with its political authority and staff size; it manages regional and departmental delegates in mainland France and in overseas territories.

The High Council for Equality between Women and Men (Haut conseil à l’égalité entre les femmes et les hommes (HCE)) is responsible for ensuring the consultation of civil society, leading the public debate on women’s rights and equality policy, contributing to the evaluation of public bodies, and collecting and disseminating data, including an annual report on sexism in France, a task that the HCE has undertaken since 2017.[11] The HCE has widened its scope of activity since 2020 and incorporates the former High Council for Professional Equality (a tripartite advisory body dedicated to gender equality in employment and working conditions), thus covering all areas of gender equality.

Since the late 1990s, gender mainstreaming has been promoted and coordinated through interministerial cooperation. In 2012, an Interministerial Committee of Women’s Rights and Gender Equality was established (Decree No 2012-1097 of 28 September 2012), with responsibility for the enforcement of women’s rights, the fight against gender stereotypes and discrimination, combating gender-based violence and the promotion of gender equality in all fields of government action. The committee meets at least twice a year, with all government ministers in attendance. It is presided over by the Prime Minister or the delegated minister responsible for gender equality. The committee adopts the interministerial action plan for professional equality between women and men and an interministerial plan to combat violence against women.

Independent gender equality body

The Defender of Rights (Défenseur des Droits) is an independent administrative authority. It was created in 2011 (by the Organic Law of 29 March 2011) to combat discrimination and promote equality on several grounds, including gender, and to defend and promote human rights, including women’s rights.

Tasks of the Defender of Rights

  • Defending the rights of users of public services.
  • Defending and promoting children’s rights.
  • Combating discrimination and promoting equality.
  • ‘Ensuring security professionals comply with ethical standards’Protecting whistle-blowers.

Any person can contact the Defender of Rights directly, at no cost, if they believe they have been discriminated against. This institution possesses multiple tools, such as significant investigation powers and legal instruments to protect and defend rights.

In 2022, the Defender of Rights appointed an internal contact person to ensure the respect and promotion of professional equality between women and men, as well as setting up an Equality Committee (Comité Egalité) to bring together internal experts.[12]

The National Assembly and the Senate regularly consult the Defender of Rights on draft legislation. The Defender of Rights can propose legislative modifications and publish its opinion on a proposition/project of law without being asked to do so.

The Defender of Rights has a total annual expenditure of EUR 27 million, with 250 employees at the national administration level and more than 600 delegates spread across the French regional administrations. The employees at the national administration level spend approximately 0–25 % of their time on gender equality work.

Parliamentary body

In France, there is no specific commission dedicated to gender equality at the parliamentary level. Instead, two permanent delegations are responsible for gender equality, one in the National Assembly and the other in the Senate, established under Law No 99-585 of 12 July 1999 creating parliamentary delegations responsible for women’s rights and equal opportunities between men and women (délégations aux droits des femmes et à l’égalité des chances entre les hommes et les femmes).[13],[14]

The fact that both are congressional delegations and not commissions means that they have a low level of resources and they cannot propose amendments, but they can provide insights on draft laws and bills. These delegations produce informational reports on dedicated topics, often in conjunction with bills that are in progress. . These reports are informed by hearings with civil society representatives, social partners, experts and researchers. They monitor government actions in terms of gender equality and inform members of parliament about these actions.

Regional structure

Regional, departmental and local authorities may initiate their own gender equality policies. Decentralised services such as the SDFE oversee the regional or departmental implementation of national gender equality policy.

The SDFE has devolved units in mainland France and in its overseas territories; in line with French devolution principles, these units are under the authority of the state. At the national level, the SDFE is part of the General Directorate for Social Cohesion, while its regional authorities (DRDFE) are under the authority of regional prefects. Its departmental delegates (DDDFE) are overseen by either departmental prefects or the corporate Devolution Administration of Social Cohesion.

In mainland France, regional councils are the administrative units responsible for defining local policy. In Corsica and overseas territories, this responsibility is held by territorial collectives (regional level) and departmental councils (departmental level). Many regions, departments and other local authorities develop their own gender equality policies. According to Article L111 of the Local Authorities Code, competence for the promotion of gender equality is shared among regional and departmental/local authorities.

Consultation with civil society

The Economic, Social and Environmental Council (Conseil économique social et environnemental (CESE)) is a French constitutional assembly made up of social representatives (employers, unions and associations). The CESE has a consultative role in the legislative process, providing national-level representation for professional organisations and facilitating communication between the various players in the economy.

Within the CESE, a delegation for gender equality is responsible for coordinating consultation with civil society organisations that are members of the CESE.

The ministry responsible for gender equality and the fight against discrimination distributes funds to non-governmental organisations. In 2024, 80 % of the funds available in the budget programme were distributed to civil society organisations on national territory (including overseas), with the remaining 20 % allocated to research funding, communications and social allowances, such as Universal Emergency Aid, which enables victims of intimate partner violence to find housing.

Methods and tools

Note: the methods and tools listed in this section were the focus of EIGE’s 2024 assessment. If certain methods and tools are not mentioned in this section, this does not necessarily mean that they are not used by France.

Gender impact assessment

In 2012, a circular was approved relating to the inclusion of gender equality impact analysis in the preparation of draft laws and regulations.[15] The circular states that each ministry is responsible for the inclusion of gender impact analysis in the preparation of all relevant draft laws and regulations, and that the ministry responsible for gender equality provides its expertise.

Gender budgeting

The national budgetary law requires each ministry to report on its budgetary contributions to gender equality in the framework of the annual budget presentation.

Document 137 of the 2022 programme (establishing the budget for equality between women and men at the national government level) shows that after piloting gender budgeting in 2020, the initiative expanded to 52 budget programmes in 2024. This expansion, managed by the SDFE and monitored by a pilot group of ministries, aims to integrate gender equality into budget decisions and analyse the impact of public measures using gender performance indicators. The HCE has also provided guidance on developing gender budgeting methodologies.

Training and awareness raising

Gender equality bodies provide gender equality training to employees of governmental bodies and other ministries on an ad hoc basis.

In December 2018, the Superior Council for Gender Equality at Work (Conseil supérieur de l’égalité professionnelle entre les femmes et les hommes) produced a kit for promoting gender equality in job classifications. Similarly, in 2016, the HCE issued a guide designed to ensure that public communications are free of gender stereotypes.

In addition, training on gender equality issues at the EU and international levels was provided to all SDFE staff in July 2024.

Gender statistics

The collection and dissemination of gender-specific statistical information is governed by a circular of 8 March 2000 on the adaptation of the state’s statistical apparatus to improve knowledge of the situations of women and men in France. The circular establishes that statistical offices within ministries are responsible for collecting and analysing sex-disaggregated data. The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Institut national des statistiques et des études économiques (Insee)) and the SDFE are responsible for coordinating the implementation. Additionally, Insee must provide ministries with technical expertise when required.

Insee has two web pages dedicated to gender statistics.[16],[17] The web pages highlight important data using infographics and present an annual report on equality between women and men that includes the following themes: women victims of violence, equality in the workplace, geographical inequalities and political representation.[18]

Every five years, Insee publishes a summary report, which includes an overview and factsheets comparing the situation of women and men in different aspects of life. Other publications focusing on women and men in the workplace are published on the website of the Directorate of Research, Studies and Statistics (Direction de l’animation de la recherche, des études et des statistiques) within the Ministry of Labour.[19] The Ministry of Education’s Department of Evaluation, Foresight and Performance (Direction de l’évaluation, de la prospective et de la performance) did produce regular publications about equality between girls and boys from school to higher education; however, this has not been the case since 2022.[20]

Moreover, the ministry responsible for gender equality publishes an annual report, Key Figures: Towards real gender equality.[21] The report is a tool designed to raise awareness about the state of equality between women and men. It presents key data in the form of infographics, and the latest sex-disaggregated statistics in the fields of employment, education, health, culture and violence against women in France and worldwide. The 2023 version focused on the challenges faced by women aged 50+.[22]

Monitoring progress

France's institutional mechanisms for gender equality and gender mainstreaming stand above the EU average.

Explore France's scores on the four key indicators on institutional mechanisms for the promotion of gender equality and gender mainstreaming developed to monitor progress on Area H of the Beijing Platform for Action.

France: Institutional mechanisms for gender equality and gender mainstreaming

References