Woman and senior, it is sometimes the double penalty on the labor market. The figures are numerous and they prove that women over 45, in the second part of their career, are the object of serious discrimination. First of all, the employment rate among 55-64 year olds: it is 56% among men against only 51% among women.
There is also the place of women in the upper echelons of business: 23% of executives and intellectual professions are men over 50 years old. Among women, the figure drops to 14%. Part-time: 10% of senior men work part-time compared to nearly 33% of women. Finally, the pay gap: among executives, Apec, the association for the employment of executives has calculated that the difference was only 4% at the start of the career with an equivalent profile but that it is rises to 12% among executives over 55.
The differences are accentuated with age due of course to more uneven paths, marked by maternity leave and part-time work. Result, less access to training and management positions. In a report, the Higher Council for Professional Equality between Women and Men noted that, when there is job loss, women end up finding and, or else accepting a small job, more often than men, or fall into inactivity.
Associations help senior women. One of them, Force Femmes, has a network throughout France. A network of ten branches and 950 volunteers who have accompanied, since its creation in 2005, more than 30,000 women over the age of 45. Force Femmes offers, in addition to its personalized support, two free online programs. The youngest is called “Towards employment”. Explanatory videos, methodological sheets, quizzes and forms to work on your confidence, prepare for an interview, practice speaking or manage your time.
Another program called “My box” is dedicated to future entrepreneurs, those who think that to find a job, it is better to create your own.