The High Council for Equality (HCE) notes a growing “polarization” between “more feminist” women and men sometimes sensitive to discourse deemed “masculinist”, particularly among young people, in its annual report on the state sexism in France published Monday.
Six out of 10 French people believe it is difficult to be a woman. This is the case for 86% of women aged 25 to 34 and 66% of young men, according to a barometer carried out in October 2024 among a representative sample of 3,200 French people aged 15 and over. 45% of men under 35 – and a quarter of French people – believe that it is difficult to be a man, an idea which is growing among young men, according to this barometer on sexism, carried out each year by the HCE .
“Women are more feminist and men more masculinist”
“Women are more feminist and men more masculinist, especially young people,” says Bérangère Couillard, president of the HCE. In the United States, 45% of young men voted for Republican Donald Trump in the presidential election, while 72% of young women supported Democrat Kamala Harris, she notes.
However, the Mazan rape trial, where 51 men were convicted of raping Gisèle Pelicot, drugged by her husband, helped raise “awareness”, according to the HCE: for 65% of French people, this affair illustrates the fact that “all men bear some responsibility” in matters of sexist and sexual violence. In addition, around 9 out of 10 French people “consider that men have a role to play in preventing and combating sexism”.
Everyday sexism
The barometer shows that women are confronted with sexism on a daily basis: 86% of them have already experienced a sexist situation and nine out of ten have adopted strategies to avoid sexism on a daily basis. Inequalities in treatment between men and women are cited in the world of work (76%), in the streets and transport (71%), in the political world (70%), in family life (62%) , in the media (48%).
-While a parliamentary commission published a report on Tuesday on the inclusion of consent in the definition of rape, 35% of women indicated having had sexual intercourse without wanting to, at the insistence of their partner.
Preventing gender violence
Three quarters of French people consider the prevention and fight against sexism important. 9 out of 10 are in favor of a program at school to understand sexuality and prevent gender-based violence, which the HCE recommends putting in place. He also recommends developing “gender-sensitive budgets”, to analyze at the national, regional and municipal level, what is spent on boys and men on the one hand, on girls and women on the other hand and “ adjust public policies.”
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