France, Alternative Libertaire AL #227 - Women and Work: Inequality hard life (fr)

Regarding work and income inequality between men and women are not afraid. These 
inequalities are more related to inequality in the distribution of domestic tasks and 
overall social inferiority of women. The women's strike of 7 March 2014 (8 is a Saturday) 
will be an opportunity to claim equal treatment of men and women workers.
" This is the work that women have largely covered the distance that separated the male 
and is the only work that can guarantee him a concrete freedom , "wrote Simone de 
Beauvoir in The Second Sex . The participation rate of women aged 15 to 64 years (the 
percentage of women working or looking for work) is growing steadily. It went from 53.1% 
in 1975 to 66.2% in 2011 (at the same time the rate for men has dropped from 84% to 
74.8%). If you think, as Simone de Beauvoir's work as a source of freedom, was the only 
positive indicator of the status of women in the workplace. Finally provided to forget 
that among these active women, many are unemployed.

More unemployment, less pay

In 2011, women were unemployed at 9.7%, when the men were at 8.8%. The gap was four and 
three points in the 1990s, it came down to two points in the 2000s and at one point today. 
But this "improvement" is not really as it relates to job creation service underpaid 
occupied by women. Women earn, on average, a full-time 20% lower than men's wages 
equivalent. The higher up the pay scale, the gap is important. If we do not calculate 
full-time equivalent salary but actually cashed at the end of the month, women earn 27% 
less than men.

The first factor explaining this difference is the part-time work. He explains three 
points 27% difference. The part-time employment rate has been doubled over the last thirty 
years. However, it has stagnated since the 1990s around 18% of employee-es. Women are 80% 
of employees to part-time. Approximately 30% of women work part-time, while 6.7% of men 
do. The proportion of part-time work is about 30%. 33% for men and 26% for women. Women 
therefore represent three-quarters of employees are in part-time work. The rate of 
involuntary part-time is certainly underestimated because it is calculated on the basis of 
wishes when seeking employment. And again, "choose" to keep their children or reconciling 
private and professional life, is not to be?

A second explanatory factor is the gender distribution of employment. Women are 
over-represented in the least skilled and other sectors the lowest paid activity. With the 
qualifications and diplomas, this factor explains fifteen points of the wage gap.

Care, cleaning, mothering

Ten eighty-four professional families (categories of grouping occupations used for 
statistics on employment) account for more than half of female employment when ten 
families where men are more represented not include 30% : women are assigned to some jobs 
or sectors. Women represent 74% of officers and maintenance workers, 64% of teachers, 69% 
of employees in sales, 72% of employees in category C of Public Administration, 97% of 
secretaries, 99% of assistants breast-le-s, 98% of home health aides and homemakers, 91% 
of nurses' aides and orderlies, 87% of nurses and midwives, 76% of employees of 
administrative company.

Work exactly reproduces the inequalities in the rest of society and assignments to social 
roles. Female-dominated occupations are the qualities that gender stereotypes attributed 
to women: the ability to care for others, caring for children, maintaining relationships, 
clean ...

Women workers are employed or 54.3%, they are managers or higher intellectual professions 
to 14.5% while 45% of men are workers or employees and 20.3% are managers or higher 
intellectual professions. Less than 20% of Officers companies are women.

There are nine points unexplained wage gap. Perhaps the idea that female wage is anchored 
an extra income? Or simple sexism business leaders who think women less efficient and 
competent?

Through work, women have therefore won the right to poverty. Considering the rate of 50% 
of median income as the limit of poverty, 8.1% of women are poor at 60%, the rate is 15%. 
For men, it is 7.4% and 13.3%. Poverty does not affect men and women equally. The gap is 
particularly pronounced in older es: After 75 years, there are nearly three times more 
poor women than men because of the weakness of their retirement (those women are 31% lower 
than those men). The gap is also important for the age group 25-34 years, the single 
mothers who receive an allowance or a part-time salary.

Domestic work and motherhood

Women spend four hours a day on housework, an hour less than in 1986 (men spend two 
fifteen, as in 1986), three hours for cleaning and shopping (one hour fifteen minutes for 
men ), forty-five minutes for child care (twenty minutes for men) and fifteen minutes for 
gardening and DIY (forty minutes for men). The participation rate of women is 69% with a 
young child, to 60% when there are two, and 37% when there are three or more.

Let's strike women

Domestic work burden on the professional activity of women on their level of activity 
(they stop to care for small children), occupations exercised (in areas compatible with 
the "qualities" female) on time part (to reconcile ...), the amount of wages (always a 
little extra). And professional and pay conditions affecting the distribution of domestic 
work. Affirm our ras-le-bol to be treated and under-employed maids, stop work and let us 
strike March 7, 2014.

Christine (AL Orne)

The figures in this article are taken from sites INSEE Observatory inequality, observing 
society and Dares Centre.