She is fed up and makes it known. Through her work “Nos si petits ambitions” (ed. l'aube), Marlène Schiappa wanted to highlight the social, cultural and structural obstacles that women encounter in their professional careers and in asserting their success. For Yahoo, the mother, former deputy minister responsible for Citizenship, returned to certain fundamental points that some tend to relegate to the background.
“I do not believe that the codes of power, whether political or economic, are adapted to the lives of women today”she says while emphasizing the role of self-censorship, often fueled by stereotypes internalized since childhood. A phenomenon that pushes many women to downplay their success so as not to appear pretentious or to avoid going against social norms. “Women tend to talk about themselves in a negative way, starting by introducing themselves by saying the degrees they don't have, the studies they didn't do or using the word small (hence the title of the book, Editor's note),” she regrets, explaining that she wants to fight against this by creating, for example, environments where self-confidence would be encouraged.
As she explains, gender stereotypes, which are still very anchored, must at all costs be deconstructed because today, a woman does not have to be ashamed of being better paid than a man. In such a scenario, Marlène Schiappa underlines the importance of encouraging men to support their partners, to value female ambitions and to ensure equitable sharing of family responsibilities. Crucial elements to move forward. “Gentlemen, know that you have a positive role to play in society to ensure that the cliché of the man who earns more money and is more socially successful is no longer necessarily the only imaginary one for a couple.”
“That day, in the National Assembly, I felt a profound injustice”
“As for you Madam, who has just been promoted, do not apologize, do not minimize your success, do not minimize your promotion, do not minimize your raise, do not act as if you should feel guilty for succeeding professionally” .
But these stereotypes are not the only elements to annoy Marlène Schiappa. The founder of the NGO coalition Actives, was offended by the “presumption of incompetence” of which women are victims while men often benefit from a presumption of competence. A complicated situation to live with, especially for those who occupy positions of high responsibility or in historically male sectors. She also regretted the gendered distribution of spheres of power, a phenomenon which reinforces the idea that certain responsibilities “are not made for them”. Indeed, in France, state ministries, such as Defense or the Interior, are rarely headed by women, a dynamic which contributes to maintaining a glass ceiling that is difficult to break and which therefore reduces the opportunities for the emergence of a female president. To illustrate her remarks, Marlène Schiappa takes the example of the female bosses of the CAC 40. “That’s good, but how many do we have? We have three out of 40. This is why with my NGO, we created the Next woman 40 to find the next 40 female bosses of the CAC 40”an initiative which she hopes will make it possible to change this state of affairs and offer new models to future generations.
Finally, the former minister points out the difficulty of reconciling professional and personal life, particularly in politics. “I experienced it when I was in government. One morning I arrived 6 minutes late at the National Assembly and for half an hour, I was criticized because I was taking care of my sick daughter”. A case which illustrates a structural hypocrisy: that of valuing family life but penalizing women when they put forward these priorities. “That day, in the National Assembly, I felt a profound injustice because in reality, we spend our time in political life making speeches on empathy, on new generations, on children, on the importance of family life but the day when we are confronted in reality with having to take care of our sick child, which is still the basics of the role of parent, we tell you reproach”.
ALSO READ >> “I earned more money”: Marlène Schiappa reveals her salary before politics
Faced with this observation, Marlène Schiappa therefore recalls the need to reduce these inequalities by establishing policies that promote professional/personal life balance such as fair parental leave or flexible working hours and by promoting women's career paths. For her, there is no doubt: the fight must continue to achieve a more egalitarian society, a fight which requires awareness, education, support and concrete initiatives.
