Among executives, the reduction in salary gaps between women and men has stalled for five years

Remuneration, career, maternity leave… The fight for professional equality is far from won for women, according to a study by the Association for Executive Employment.

A recent APEC study shows “how much inequalities persist between women and men in management, particularly in terms of remuneration and career paths”. Decryption with Sarah Lemoine.

franceinfo: Among executives, the reduction in salary gaps between women and men has stalled for five years?

Sarah Lemoine: In 2017, equality between women and men was recognized as a major national cause. In 2019, the professional equality index was created. It requires all companies with fewer than 50 employees to calculate the pay gap between the two sexes, then to correct the situation, under penalty of being sanctioned.

But 5 years later, wage inequalities still persist. Worse still, they are not regressing, says APEC, the association for executive employment. Today, a male executive earns on average 7% more than a female executive in the same position and profile.

And this unexplained gap has barely changed since 2019. Note that this pay inequity is observed from the start of the career, and widens throughout professional life. At 55, a female executive earns 11% less than her male counterpart, still with the same profile.

With a strong feeling of injustice?

Half of women executives believe that they are not fairly paid, and more of them than men express this feeling. This is explained by the few actions put in place in organizations, says APEC. Only 14% of large companies have set aside a specific budget to reduce salary inequalities. 5% of SMEs and 2% of VSEs, according to the HR managers interviewed. However, awareness-raising actions for managers to ensure fair pay are better deployed. But clearly, they are not bearing fruit.

Beyond salary, is the glass ceiling still in place?

Women executives always have difficulty evolving professionally. Only a third of them hold a management position, compared to half of men. The cause, in particular, is the poor distribution of domestic tasks. A sick child is looked after more often by the executive mother than the executive dad. With impacts on health, since more women suffer from stress and intense fatigue.

Finally, the fight against sexism is far from won. Even if executives, managers and recruiters are more trained on the subject, 4 out of 10 female executives still witness sexist behavior, in gestures or words.