the HCE notes a growing “polarization”, particularly among young people

women “more feminist” and men sometimes sensitive to judged speeches “masculinists”: the High Council for Equality between Women and Men (HCE) notes a « polarisation » growing, particularly among young people, in its annual report on the state of sexism in France, published Monday January 20.

Six out of ten French people believe that 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. Some 45% of men under 35 – and a quarter of French people – consider it 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, especially young people”says to Agence France-Presse 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, contributed to a “awareness”according to the HCE: for 65% of French people, this affair illustrates the fact that “all men bear a part of responsibility” in matters of gender-based and sexual violence. In addition, around nine out of ten French people “consider that men have a role to play in preventing and combating sexism”.

Strategies for avoiding 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 say they have had sexual intercourse without wanting to, at the insistence of their partner.

Three quarters of French people consider the prevention and fight against sexism important. Nine out of ten are in favor of a program at school to understand sexuality and prevent gender-based violence, a measure that the HCE recommends putting in place. He also recommends developing “gender-sensitive budgets”to analyze at the national, regional and municipal levels, what is spent on boys and men, on the one hand; for girls and women, on the other hand, and “adjust public policies”.