There is an urgent need to act
Almost one in two women aged 25 to 49 “have experienced at least one situation of non-consent”, but “only 23% of men admit to having been the author” of at least one of these acts. These are some of the striking statistics contained in theState of sexism in France2024 annual report just published by the High Council for Equality (HCE), a government body.
Nine out of ten women say they have “already renounced actions or modified their behavior to avoid being victims of sexism”, and 86% of women say they “have already personally experienced a sexist situation”.
“It is the roots of sexism that must be tackled”, and “urgently”, we can read in the report.
“Sexism starts at home, continues at school and explodes online. »
The High Council for Equality notes that “the immense majority of the French population […] says she is shocked by the impunity enjoyed by sexist acts and remarks.
But “the more commitment to women is expressed in public debate, the more resistance is organized on the other side.”
The place of men threatened in the eyes of some
According to HCE data, 37% of men consider that feminism threatens the place and role of men and 32% believe that they are “losing their power”.
The role of men is still perceived in a very traditional way in France: 70% of men think “that they must take care of their family financially to be respected in society” – this is the case for 63% of French women. Also.
To correspond to what is expected of them in society, 60% of women and 45% of men think that “they must be discreet”.
In fact, 44% of women say “they are careful not to raise their voice” (up three points).
Housewives ?
More than half of the population “still finds it normal or positive that a woman cooks every day for the whole family”.
The injunction of motherhood remains strong: 54% of women aged 25 to 34 think “that women are expected to have children”.
“Masculist reflexes and macho behaviors are taking root, particularly among young adult men, while the assignment of women to the domestic sphere and maternal role is gaining ground,” the authors write.
They also note that “the return of these conservative injunctions can be clearly observed on social networks, particularly through the success of #tradwife trends (contraction of the English words traditional And wife) and #stayathomegirlfriend, which can be translated as “traditional wife”.
Also, according to data from the High Council for Equality, only 36% of respondents “consider that equality is achieved in family life, home life”.
And all this is not trivial, according to this inventory of sexism in France.
“These findings are extremely serious, because this persistence of sexism is the cause of more serious violence against women, the number of which is not decreasing, and is even increasing in certain areas. »
Work, a hotbed of discrimination
Even today, 28% of men think that “men are better suited to be bosses”.
In general, the world of work remains perceived “as the most unequal sphere, both in the choice of professions practiced and in careers and remuneration, with equal qualifications and skills”, it is written.
Only 20% of the population considers that women and men are equal in practice, “which is corroborated by official statistical surveys, since the salary income of women remains on average 22% lower than that of men” in France .
Threats against women
In 2022, 118 women were victims of femicide. “We are reporting their decline in 2023”, since there were 94 of them last year. “This, we can only hope, reinforces the idea that the means implemented to combat violence have effects. »
On the other hand, on a daily basis, the HCE denounces “an ever-increasing deprivation of their freedom on a daily basis. For example, 58% of survey respondents said they have already given up going out to do activities alone.”
Sexism starts young
“School creates sexism”, observes the HCE, which notes that “more than one in two people consider that women and men do not experience the same treatment”.
No less than 62% of girls and women aged 15 to 24 and 51% of boys and men in the same age group believe that at school, boys lack respect towards girls.
The report mentions, for example, a study in education1 according to which girls “are interviewed 30% less time than boys, mainly for reasons of attracting attention. This has a direct implication on girls’ self-confidence and their academic ambition.”
But the very first exposure to sexism remains the family.
“Parents, without realizing it, reproduce the most traditional gender patterns. »
Among other things, “40% of girls consider that men are treated better at home with regard specifically to household chores”.
The effects of porn
The High Council for Equality notes that no less than 64% of men aged 25 to 34 agree with the statement that “pornography makes you want to reproduce sexual gestures and that it should not be demonized”.
And this, specifies the report, while according to the Institute of Opinion and Marketing Studies (IFOP)2“33% of young men aged 18 to 24 believe that pornography has had a negative influence on their sexuality”.
The HCE also cites a British study3 that 47% of boys believe that girls “expect sex to involve physical aggression” and 42% believe that most girls “enjoy acts of aggression”.
Hate speech
In addition to recommending more education programs, the HCE believes that France must “further use the legal tools that allow sexism to be punished, so that it is no longer seen as a form of hate speech that would be more legitimate.” that others “.
Because for the High Council for Equality, sexist speech “is better accepted than any other hateful speech”, “culturally inoculated throughout life”. Sexist speech is “too rarely spotted, retained, and therefore punished, whether at work, in the street, online or in the media”.
Some numbers
- 32% French men believe they are “losing their power”
- 28% of respondents think that “men are better suited to be bosses”
- 58% of respondents say they have already given up going out to do activities alone
- 70% of men think “that they must take care of their family financially to be respected in society”
- Only 20% of the population believes that men and women are equal at work in practice.
Source: 2024 annual report on the state of sexism in France
1. “Speaking out between girls and boys in cycle 3: power to boys? », Océane Garcia and Charline Morau, Education, 2017
2. Survey on the effects of porn on sexuality and gender relations, IFOP, 2023
3. “A lot of it is actually just abuse – Young People and Pornography”, Children’s Commissioner for England, January 2023