Because freedom and responsibility are part of its founding principles, MGEN is committed to women’s rights since its creation in 1946. The mutual has shown itself very early and on several occasions to be avant-garde in defending the freedom of women to dispose of their bodies. For example, when it offered its members reimbursement for voluntary termination of pregnancy (abortion) before it was covered by Social Security. Or when, later, she defended medically assisted procreation (MAP) for all before its legalization. A leading healthcare player with more than 3.2 million members and beneficiaries, MGEN has also set itself the mission of advancing women’s health. This is how it supports research on women’s health and relies on innovation to develop new services meeting the specific needs of its activists, employees and members. Finally, when we make the defense of women’s rights a priority, we must be exemplary. MGEN has put in place numerous measures for its employees and activists to guarantee professional equality between women and men.
For the rights of women to control their bodies
Since the 1960s, we have organized orthogenic consultations, aimed at planning and regulating births. These practices were innovative and contravened the 1920 laws which repressed contraceptive propaganda. Later, in 1975, when abortion was decriminalized, we included reimbursement for this procedure in our offers, eight years before Health Insurance took charge of it. Finally, in 2011, we launched a national petition to protest against the closure of abortion and family planning centers. In September 2017, we publicly took a position in favor of “PMA for all”, four years before it was legalized. Finally, last February, we defended the inclusion of freedom of recourse to abortion in the Constitution.
To advance research on female pathologies
MGEN supports research on female cancers. In 1990, we asked our members to take part in an epidemiological study carried out by INSERM (E3N) on the hereditary factors of female cancers. No less than 100,000 members agree to participate. This program was then extended to the daughters, granddaughters and spouses of these members. Thanks to the mobilization of MGEN, INSERM benefits from one of the largest research cohorts in epidemiology and women’s health worldwide.
To advance research on cardiovascular disorders in womenless known than those of men, since 2016 we have supported the “Sport Health Well-Being” Chair at the University of Poitiers, which is conducting research on this subject.
To respond to the specific health issues of its members, activists and employees
To relieve women suffering from endometriosis, this little-known disease which affects one in ten women, we turned to an innovative solution. In 2022, we entered into a partnership with Lyv, a start-up backed by Inserm. The system deployed includes comprehensive information scientifically verified by specialists and tailor-made multidisciplinary support (diet, intimate life, physical activity, etc.).
The partnership between MGEN and Lyv first took the form of MGEN covering the registration fees for 1,000 MGEN members who tested the program for 3 months. This first step made it possible to experiment and validate the effectiveness of the device. The program was thus able to be deployed, from June 2023, to MGEN employees and activists, then to numerous members. Thanks to this system, acclaimed by its users, we were rewarded with the Service Innovation prize at the 2023 Insurance Trophies.
MGEN is committed to break the taboos around menopause and contribute to better management of its effects on health, professional and personal life. In October 2023, in partnership with the Women’s Foundation, the mutual published with Kantar the results of its second survey on the French and menopause. In particular, it reveals that one in three women hide the effects of their menopause. She has also initiated a cycle of online conferences, open to all and accessible in replay. By giving the floor to experts (sociologist, endocrinologist and gynecologist, etc.), the mutual wanted to provide reliable and accessible information on the origins of menopause in France, its social construction, its manifestations, its effects in the professional sphere , etc. This cycle began on January 29 and will end on June 26.
For professional equality between women and men
Our commitment to gender equality is also reflected in concrete actions with our employees and activists. In January 2024, MGEN joined the #StOpE initiative coordinated by the French Association of Diversity Managers (AFMD) which fights against ordinary sexism in business. On May 24, a new agreement for professional equality was signed to reaffirm MGEN’s historic commitment, as a committed and responsible employer, to the fight against all forms of discrimination and for equal opportunities. Her goals ? Continue to raise awareness of stereotypes and decision-making biases, recruit and promote more women to positions of high responsibility, support women in their professional careers, among other things.
