the pace of reduction in the income gap has “slowed considerably” in France, according to a study

The gap in labor income between French women and men “slightly exceeds 30%”, according to the Economic Analysis Council.

Worrying figures. The rate of reduction in income inequalities between women and men has “considerably slowed down over the past ten years” in France, according to a note from the Economic Analysis Council (CAE), published Thursday November 28. The labor income gap has been narrowing for 30 years, but progress has “for the most part” been carried out between 1990 and 2010 (-15%), points out this body of expertise attached to Matignon. It only fell by 5 points between 2010 and 2020.

This gap in labor income between women and men “slightly exceeds 30%”according to the note, which explains this rate higher than that of INSEE (24.4% for 2020) by a different methodology, including in particular people who are not employed.

These inequalities are linked to “lower participation of women in the labor market, lower working hours and persistent wage differences, even with equal working hours”recalls the note, which emphasizes that the gap represents a cost “of the order of ten points of GDP”.

The three factors – participation, hours and hourly wages – “are playing roughly equal”to a third each, to explain the income gap, said Camille Landais, co-author of the study, during a presentation to the press. If inequalities “start from the education system”it is above all the consequences of motherhood for women who have children who “is the determining factor” in their persistence, underlines the note.