A third generation of women’s rights

PREMIER MINISTRE

A third generation of women’s rights: Towards a society with genuine equality

Record of decisions taken by the inter-ministerial committee on women’s rights and gender equality

For six months, women’s rights have once more become public policy. We have a government with equal numbers of men and women. We have reinstated a minister of women’s rights. The parliament has unanimously passed a law on sexual harassment. We have made the issue of gender equality the focus of a 1

major social conference. A joint roadmap with social partners has been defined and has begun to be implemented.

To define and implement this new policy, the government’s working methods have changed radically.

Impact studies on draft legislation now systematically take gender equality into consideration, and all ministers are invited to use the same approach to draft legislation presenting the challenges in this respect.

The ministers have appointed a senior official for equal rights and have made one of their advisors the contact person. They have personally participated in actions to raise awareness about equality issues.

Equality conferences have involved all the administrations in the drafting of a roadmap on gender equality.

The inter-ministerial committee on women’s rights and gender equality (Comité interministeriel aux droits des femmes et à l’égalité entre les femmes et les hommes), which had not met for over 12 years, should help initiate a new phase in defining a third generation of women’s rights. Civic rights were recognized during the Liberation; economic and social rights were acquired in the 1970s and 1980s: it is now time to define rights that produce genuine equality.

This third generation of women’s rights should help us construct a society with genuine equality in which men and women are on an equal footing in a society that they shape together. That construction should be based education, conviction and rethinking lifestyles. It should start at school, from the earliest possible age, but should likewise take place in institutions, in administrations, in families, in companies, in the media and in associations. Since inequality can be found everywhere, we plan to take action everywhere.

Gender equality is now particularly necessary. It is an effective way to strengthen social cohesion and reinstate the promise of a republic that has equal opportunity in every region.

This inter-ministerial committee is the outcome of an original project in which the entire government participated. The decisions taken on 30 November 2012 are based on the proposals put forward by each and every minister. They were discussed with officials from the ministry of women’s rights at a conference on equality. They were then submitted for the prime minister’s approval.

At this first meeting of the inter-ministerial committee on women’s rights a series of immediate and strong measures were taken. A roadmap was also defined for each ministry and is attached to this record of the decisions taken. Each ministry is responsible for implementing its own roadmap.

The government will work on projects in other frameworks than that of this inter-ministerial committee.

These projects include the insecurity of women, which will be one of the cross-cutting themes of the conference on poverty eradication and social inclusion scheduled for 10 and 11 December 2012, and political equality, to which President Hollande is committed, with regard to both parliamentary assemblies and local elections. Important decisions will be taken on the basis of a report to be issued by the commission chaired by Lionel Jospin so that France finally ranks among the countries with the highest percentage of women in elected office.

Defending women’s rights has always been an indicator of social progress and of French society embracing modernity. Such was the case when the first women were appointed in the Front Popular, the alliance of left-wing movements during the interwar period. Such was the case when Simone Veil fought to decriminalize abortion or when Yvette Roudy became the first minister of women’s rights under François Mitterrand. Such was also the case when Lionel Jospin’s Government fought to pass a law on equality or more recently when the law of 27 January 2011 was passed on increasing women’s presence on corporate boards.

Our government will not stop at being the first government with an equal number of men and women in the history of France. It will seek to live up to history, which since the Front Popular has gradually been making women equal to men in society.

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The Government has today decided on a series of measures that focus on: 1. TACKLING COMMON INEQUALITIES FROM THE EARLIEST POSSIBLE AGE 2. REDUCING WOMEN’S EVERYDAY CONSTRAINTS OBSTACLES TO EQUALITY IN THE WORKPLACE

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3. MAKING GENDER EQUALITY A FOCUS OF HEALTH DEMOCRACY 4. PROTECTING WOMEN FROM VIOLENCE 5. INCLUDING EQUALITY IN ALL GOVERNMENT ACTION PLANS 6. AFFIRMING WOMEN’S RIGHTS AT INTERNATIONAL LEVEL

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ELIMINATING

TACKLING COMMON INEQUALITIES FROM THE EARLIEST POSSIBLE AGE French people are fully aware of the fact that sometimes stereotypes are amusing: 64% of French people realize that they perpetuate sexist stereotypes involuntarily, while 95% of them feel that other people do so to a much greater extent.

When they are systematically inclined to favour one sex over another, these stereotypes become an obstacle. They may limit opportunities for women. They lower their confidence. They also may contribute to related sexism and discrimination. They are the breeding ground for violence, which is at times latent, silent, visible, and at times physical, sexual or both. We see examples every day in magazine headlines, in the workplace or in the behaviour of our young people.

These stereotypes are formed very early; from the time children are very young. Schools should get organized and take action so as to avoid perpetuating sexist stereotypes involuntarily. The ways of asking questions, having students speak in class, giving marks, punishing and obviously providing guidance, reveal representations that are deeply rooted in people’s supposed skills.

Such practices, often involuntary, have significant consequences on children’s schooling, then careers. The paradox is well known: girls have better marks than boys but their career choices remain extremely traditional and too often limited to certain sectors of activity. Although they have a broader range of opportunities, boys are still reluctant to choose certain occupations that are considered “feminine”. While the percentage of female baccalaureate holders is much higher than male baccalaureate holders in this generation (76.6% versus 66.8%) only 43.5% of students enrolled in the first year of “classes préparatoires aux grandes écoles”, a two-year academic course that prepares students for entrance exams of the top higher education institutions, are female. If we are to change this situation, we need to create the conditions required for our education system to ensure the success of every student.

Action at school is essential to changing society. It should be supported by other initiatives in the media,

advertising, sports and cultural practices and life. These measures form an overall plan designed to change representations that too often project a negative image of women and do not empower women to express their talents, as men’s equals.  PROMOTING EQUALITY AT EVERY LEVEL OF EDUCATION 2013 will be a year of taking action and rallying support for equality in schools from all educators and people working in the community and associations, as well as youth movements.

1. Promote equality at every level of education In primary schools, an “ABCD de l’égalité” programme for children aged 5 to 11 will be created. It will be developed during the 2012-2013 school year and implemented in five school districts in autumn 2013.

This programme will rely on education materials, both digital and printed, that will be developed by the ministry of women’s rights and the ministry of national education. An assessment protocol will be created so that the programme can be implemented in all schools, if the outcomes are conclusive, in autumn 2014. Students’ parents will be involved in these trials.

In middle and secondary schools, actions to raise awareness about efforts to stop sexual harassment and violence and to educate about respect and equality will be proposed and conducted with people working in the community and associations and civic service volunteers as part of school projects.

Programmes of the same type will be implemented in schools that are managed by the ministry responsible for agriculture. The “Insertion – Égalité” network is working to that end.

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An action plan to make sexuality education fully effective in primary, middle and secondary schools will be drafted in December 2012. The implementation of the sessions provided for by law and the objectives set out in a circular of 17 February 2003 is currently being assessed jointly by educators, local and regional authorities, health professionals and associations.

Training on equality between boys and girls will be included in the specifications for future top teacher and education training graduate schools (Ecoles supérieures du professorat et de l’éducation) and taken into consideration in other teacher training schools. This issue will also be included in the continuing education of all staff working in national education, higher education and agriculture, with a special focus on management and inspection staff, in connection with the top training school for national education, higher education and research civil servants (Ecole supérieure de l’éducation nationale, de l’enseignement supérieur et de la recherche) when it comes to national education.

Online training tools will be established and made available on specialized and general websites of the ministry of national education. Starting in 2013, an Internet portal on the website of the office providing information on teaching and occupations (Office national d’information sur les enseignements et les professions) will bring together all the useful educational tools in the area of equality. The people who produce these tools will meet regularly.

All of these actions will be included in an inter-ministerial agreement on equality between boys and girls and men and women in the education system, which will be extended to cover the period 2012-2017.

Under this agreement, five ministries undertake to strengthen their action to promote gender equality. The agreement sets out measures to acquire and transmit a gender equality culture, promote the role of women in school curricula and improve the gender mix in all training and education sectors.

2. Make promoting equality a primary objective of the new public career guidance service The creation of a public career guidance service, such as the one being considered for the new phase of decentralization, should help systematically take into account the need to promote a greater gender mix in education and training sectors, adapt information and advice provided and develop career guidance tools. Actions will be based on those that have already been carried out in certain job sectors, such as construction.

The new public service will seek to further develop and publish statistics that make the reality of guidance and occupation disparities visible and indisputable. It will showcase the success stories of men and women who are experts in an occupation that is popular among members of the opposite sex to encourage vocations.

In schools, equality between girls and boys in the access to education and training courses and occupations will be promoted. This theme will be developed in courses that provide information and career guidance to students and help them discover the economic and professional world starting at 12 years of age.

A coordination committee will be established with professionals from the ministry of women’s rights and other ministries that are certified to promote training courses that are the least appealing to young girls, but also to young men. These proposals will be a basis for framework partnership agreements concluded between the ministry of national education and job sectors.

The ministries responsible for agriculture, work and vocational training, social affairs and health, higher education, ecology, production recovery, the small-scale industry, commerce and tourism will provide their support directly or via their networks to this undertaking to improve the gender mix in education and training courses and equality in the workplace.

The “Semaine de l’industrie”, a week of events dedicated to industry, will be an opportunity to step up action to promote industry jobs among the female population. In the small-scale industry sector, action 5

will be engaged with the French national fund for the promotion and communication of the small-scale industry (Fonds national de promotion et de communication de l'artisanat) to increase the number of women in traditionally male jobs and men in traditionally female jobs.

3. Make moving towards equality a focus of the reform of higher education and research An equality objective will help improve women’s representation in universities. Applying this principle of equality will thus be considered in the future bill on higher education and research to be presented in 2013.

Teaching on equality and/or gender will be developed at different levels and in all the sectors, based on good practices used in institutions such as the Université Paris Diderot and the Institut d’études politiques de Paris.

To encourage this teaching, support for the production of scientific knowledge on these issues will be provided. Guidelines for the programming of the national research agency (Agence nationale de la recherché) for the period 2013-2017 take this into account. As of 2013, gender will be a priority component in learning and innovative society programmes.

Gender equality will be a systematic component of contractual dialogue between the ministry of higher education and research and institutions. As a result, institutions will be involved in implementing the overall gender equality policy and monitor and evaluate the commitments taken by the ministry.

A charter for equality will be signed by the ministry of women’s rights and the ministry of higher education and research with associations of university presidents, school principals, and heads of engineering schools and top graduate schools, which include over 300 institutions with a total of over 1.6 million students.

4. Make equality a civic issue A framework agreement with the civic service agency will be signed in November, which will target nearly 1,000 young people in actions to raise awareness about gender stereotypes and to educate people about equality in public services, sports and the community and associations.

In connection with the defence ministry, actions to raise awareness about equality will be integrated into “Journées Défense et Citoyenneté”, days of events dedicated to defence and citizenship.  CHANGING REPRESENTATIONS As part of reflection on the future of France’s broadcasting authority (Conseil supérieur de l’audiovisuel), the government will propose that the new authority’s powers be extended by changing Article 15 of law 86-1067 of 30 September 1986 on the freedom of communication. The new authority could be responsible for monitoring the promotion of women’s image and preventing the broadcasting of sexist stereotypes and degrading images of women in programmes offered to the public by an audiovisual communication service.

Amendments to COM 2011-2015 of France Télévision (end 2012) and to COM 2010-2014 of Radio France will be signed to increase the inclusion of equality in media. These agreements will be translated into actions to address sexist stereotypes and promote a positive image of women, especially by improving the representation of female experts in current programmes and by promoting equality in children’s programmes.

The government will consult France’s advertising regulatory authority (Autorité de régulation professionnelle de la publicité) when an advertisement seems to be detrimental to gender equality 6

and ask it to decide whether it complies with the code of conduct for advertisers. Based on proposals put forward by a gender equality board (Haut conseil à l’égalité entre les femmes et les hommes) (see below), it will propose that this authority strengthen its self-regulation of advertising to encourage advertisements that do not perpetuate a stereotyped and degrading image of women’s role.  GIVING WOMEN A FULL ROLE IN THE CULTURAL SHPERE In the cultural sphere, a negative situation for women has been observed both in the management of institutions, the place of artists, access to means of production and broadcasting networks and programming choices. This situation has already been highlighted several times in the Reine Prat reports published in May 2006 and May 2009.

To fully recognize the artistic ability of women, the ministry of culture will seek to appoint equal numbers of men and women as heads of public cultural institutions. The art and cultural education plan will include the objective of equal representation of men and women.

An equality promotion clause will be included in all financing agreements that the ministry of culture and communication concludes with those involved in cultural policy, whether in connection with the sector concerned, wages, access to means of production and broadcasting networks or programming choices. This clause will be monitored regularly by a centre monitoring equality in arts and culture that the ministry of culture and communication will establish and that will assist the gender equality board in its work.  AFFIRMING THE VALUES OF SPORTS BY GIVING WOMEN THEIR RIGHTFUL PLACE In the sports world, men predominately hold technical staff posts and management posts in decisionmaking bodies of athletic federations. As they are renewed and at the latest by 2014, the agreements on objectives signed with athletic federations will set out equality objectives for establishing the managing bodies of federations. They will define a calendar to do so, implementing the change in the legislative framework for sports in France.

As of 2013, agreements on the promotion of female sports will be signed with all athletic federations. Monitoring them will be one of the duties of Laura Flessel, chair of France’s standing committee on anti-discrimination (Comité permanent de lutte contre les discriminations).

Female competitions are under-represented on televised programmes, only accounting for 13% of broadcasted sporting events on television. To give them their rightful place, the list of major sporting events in the decree of 22 December 2004, issued to apply Article 20-2 of law 86-1067 of 30 September 1986 on the freedom of communication, will be revised. The question of adding major sporting events should be addressed, for example with regard to football, the female finals of the championship of France, the league of champions or the world cup.

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REDUCING WOMEN’S EVERYDAY CONSTRAINTS AND ELIMINATING OBSTACLES TO EQUALITY IN THE WORKPLACE Everyone agrees that our legislation concerning equality in the workplace that has been passed over the past 40 years is relatively comprehensive. If we wish to move forward, we must now focus on its effectiveness, workers’ rights and employers’ obligations. We will only ensure this effectiveness if the State, trade unions and companies address these issues with a common approach. That is why it was essential that equality in the workplace be one of the priorities of our major social conference. After this conference, the government and social partners (representatives of management and labour) met in a tripartite steering committee meeting in Rennes on 18 September 2012 and drew up a joint action plan to achieve equality in the workplace.

If there is still a 27% difference in gross monthly salaries between men and women in our country, it is clearly because we have not addressed the root causes of inequalities: the differences in the nature of jobs or work schedule and especially parttime work; and finding a work-life balance, which is usually a woman’s responsibility; the specialization of domestic work in households; women’s lower salary expectations.

Today, early childhood care needs are not being met. Some 40% of parents consider that they do not have access to the type of child care they would like.

Not being able to obtain child care that is adapted to one’s needs mainly poses problems for women. Many women risk losing their job and stop working altogether. Some 40% of beneficiaries of the “complément de libre choix d’activité, a supplement for parents who cut back on their hours or stop working altogether, or nearly 210,000 women, decided to stop working even though they would have preferred to keep their job. For 40%, or about 84,000 of them, it was mainly because they could not find a child care solution.

Among couples who are their child’s main child care providers and in which one parent does not work, in 95% of the cases it is the mother.

The situation for women is particularly insecure when they work part time. This problem mainly concerns single parents, 90% of whom are women and one in three is poor. It is even worse for women living in sensitive urban zones (according to a 2011 report by a centre that monitors urban zones fewer than one in two women living in these neighbourhoods work and their unemployment rate is over 20%). At the conference on poverty alleviation and social inclusion on 10 and 11 December 2012, the government will address the issue of support for these families.

Insecurity for women may also be reflected in firing during vulnerable periods. In this connection, the government, sensitive to the remarks made by France’s Defender of Rights, Dominique Baudis, seeks to enforce the law prohibiting salaried workers from being fired in the four weeks following their return from maternity leave.  IMPROVING THE WORK-LIFE BALANCE As was pointed out at the major social conference, the government would like its social partners to address the roots of inequality in the workplace, something that has thus far been ignored in cross-industry social dialogue: finding a work-life balance, forced part-time work, and insecurity. The social partners began their negotiations on the quality of life at work and equality in the workplace on 21 September 2012. They had not conducted cross-industry national dialogue specifically on equality issues since 2004.

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The changes in rules on parental leave should increase women’s level of employment and promote a better sharing of parental responsibilities during the first months of their children’s lives. The changes needed in this area should in no way lead to a decrease in women’s rights with regard to maternity leave.

At the end of these negotiations, which should be in late March 2013, the government will put forward a framework legislation bill on women’s rights. The legislation could include the main components of the agreement of the social partners, and the legislative measures concerning women’s rights presented in this plan.  WORKING OUT A NEW AIM TO DEVELOP EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE SERVICES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY Early childhood care solutions (children aged 0 to 3) need to be found to ensure equal opportunities for all children (without social or regional distinction). They will also be an essential contribution to finding a work-life balance, and as a result, genuine equality in the workplace. The inter-ministerial committee held a debate on this issue during which the minister responsible for family affairs recalled and expounded upon the main components of early childhood care policy.

With a theoretical child care capacity at national level (all child care options) of 50% of children aged 0 to 3, France is below the European average but should have the aim of ensuring effective access for all families to some type of child care. The creation of spots in the period 2008-2011 (120,000 for an objective of 200,000 by 2012) was partly offset by a decrease in pre-schooling for children under 3 years of age (down 55 spots) and by the elimination of spots in group child care (down 13,000 spots). There are still considerable regional inequalities: opportunities vary according to the department, ranging from 9 to 80 per 100 children aged 0 to 3.

Child care needs have to be better met. As the above information has shown, this cannot be done with a policy that simply announces quantified objectives nationally. Child care options need to be increased over the long term and social and regional inequalities need to be corrected. The effective response to needs will be provided on a regional level.

This government aim will be translated into two policies: 1. Schooling for children under 3 years of age From now until 2015, the ministry of national education will develop schooling for children under 3 years of age, particularly in priority education sectors and in remote rural sectors, for which a child care objective of 30% of the age group will be sought.

A partnership with the relevant authorities and the social security branch dealing with family benefits is essential for this pre-schooling to improve the material, educational and pedagogical aspects of care of these very young children. In this connection, the ministry of national education will publish, following dialogue, national specifications for schooling children under 3 years of age.

2. The objectives of a new agreement on objectives and management of the social security branch dealing with family benefits to be signed in late March 2013 The national community contributes an annual €4.5 billion to early childhood care from the national social action fund (Fonds national d’action sociale) of the social security branch dealing with family benefits, half of which is dedicated to the different types of child care. The use of these resources is set out in a multi-year agreement on objectives and management that is concluded between the State and the national family benefits office (Caisse nationale des allocations familiales), which is coming to an end and needs to be renegotiated for the period 2013-2016.

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In doing so, new types of priorities will be added to the agreement: targeted use of funds in regions where the needs are the least covered and, among the different child care options and organisation, on those that are the best adapted to the features of each region and respond best to difficulties the poorest families face, particularly single parent households. They will take into account the location and opening hours, the problem of schedules and new ways of working.

The agreement should likewise be reinforced at a regional level by enhanced coordination of the State, the social security branch dealing with family benefits and local government, which will ensure the implementation of priorities and define the steering methods effectively as possible.

A greater recognition of early childhood care jobs is a condition for effective development of child care. Ways of making the jobs of child care professionals more attractive should be studied. Overhauling regulations (repealing decree 2010-613 of 7 June 2010 and replacing it with provisions that are consistent with the guidelines of the new agreement on objectives and management) will be coupled with a plan for early childhood care jobs. Gender equality in the workplace for these jobs will be one of its main thrusts.

On the basis of the report of the inspectorate general of social affairs, currently entrusted to Brigitte Gresy, various trials will be defined in the upcoming agreement on objectives and management to improve consideration of equality between boys and girls in professional practices used in group early childhood care services.

These new priorities call for a new method and reflection on the coordination of all those concerned. Taking into account regional specificities, the method should make it possible to better focus priorities on improving pre-schooling and developing all the individual and group early childhood care solutions. Efforts to modernize public action will include a review of partnership-based policy.

The minister responsible for family affairs has already begun action on these ideas of national and local authorities on early childhood care policy and has involved parents in citizen workshops in four regions.

On 8 February 2013, a day of meetings will be held to report on this work and that of the family affairs board (Haut conseil de la famille) conducted on the inequalities in access to child care and the government’s detailed roadmap will be announced. It will be implemented immediately after the negotiations of the agreement on objectives and management are concluded in late March 2013.  SECURING PART-TIME WORK The issue of part-time work is a central factor behind inequalities in the workplace. Nearly half of the wage differences between men and women are due to women having to work part time. Women hold 80% of part-time jobs.

The condition of these women whose daily lives are full of obligations was one of the blind spots of reforms on job training, unemployment benefits, social security and pensions in recent years. Part-time work should be regulated in order to avoid abusive situations and the social rights of part-time workers should be improved.

At the major social conference, the State and social partners decided to take steps to address this issue.

They studied whether a minimum number of work hours could be defined in sector negotiations. It is on the agenda of negotiations of social partners on improving job security. The government will then address the issue accordingly in a bill adopted in early 2013.

The government stated that it expected decisive progress in these negotiations, particularly when it comes to reducing insecurity. The conference on part-time work progress convened by the minister of women’s rights in Caen on 16 November 2012 helped capitalize on the innovative solutions in various sectors to reduce part-time work, and improve the quality of jobs and workers’ rights. It highlighted the role the State can play, as public procurers, in certain sectors and especially that of cleaning 10

services, in rethinking the way in which it defines its needs, to better ensure the continuity of work hours and, where possible, give the people concerned full-time positions.

Following on from this conference on progress and as part of the inter-ministerial strategy of public procurement, the prime minister will send a circular to systematically promote the increase in the duration of activity of the maintenance staff concerned and the cleaning of offices during work hours. Trials have been conducted particularly in local governments (Rennes and Nantes municipalities) and in decentralized State services (prefecture of the Poitou-Charentes region). They will be extended to central administrations then progressively to decentralized State services. A new inter-ministerial contract for office cleaning will be in force starting 2013. Associations representing local governments will join the project.  STRENGTHENING EQUALITY IN COMPANIES BY SUPPORTING SOCIAL DIALOGUE The differences in remunerations that remain can be considered discrimination, and are neither understandable nor acceptable. Three paths will be taken to rectify the problem.

First, the State will take its responsibilities to ensure that the penalty system established in 2010 is not rendered ineffective by an inappropriate control procedure and the many special dispensations, and that it effectively encourages companies to negotiate.

The law on jobs of the future is a considerable step forward giving negotiations on equality in the workplace an important place in companies and creating an obligation to submit action plans to the administration. Another step forward will be the review of the application of the law of 9 November 2010.

The government will publish a new decree, which was submitted to social partners on the board of equality in the workplace (Conseil supérieur de l’égalité professionnelle), in the days following the inter-ministerial meeting. This decree boosts the requirements and expectations vis-à-vis companies by increasing the number of themes that need to be addressed in agreements and the action plan and by making that on remuneration mandatory in order to finally make efforts to reduce wage differences. A comprehensive control strategy will be defined so that work can be inspected with all the available tools (compliance letters, formal notices, and in the absence of compliance commitment, a 1% penalty procedure).

Starting 2013, a systematic review of actions implemented in all companies with over 1,000 employees will be conducted. Controls will be conducted on the existence of agreements and action plans as well as the content of these documents. They should make sure that steps have been taken in this area and measures are in place (progress objectives, measures to achieve them and performance monitoring indicators).

Second, this obligation cannot be fulfilled without better assistance from companies, which will consist of: - a joint letter that the minister responsible for labour and the minister of women’s rights will send to all companies with over 300 employees to present the new legal framework, to remind them of their obligations and to present their assistance tools available to them, particularly on the Internet.

- the launch of the www.ega-pro.fr website, which will provide tools and testimonies from companies so that users can identify actions they can take. This website will also offer companies who are interested a medium for building and moderating networks of dialogue among their employees on this issues.

- specific assistance to SMEs will be provided by mobilizing trial regions and a number of big companies that are willing to commit to sharing their best practices on equality in the workplace and support actions that will be conducted in these SMEs.

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Last, to give effect to the idea of equal pay for equal work, the board on equality in the workplace will convene the social partners of one or several sector(s) to improve sector classification by using the notion of jobs of comparable value.  BREAKING THE GLASS CEILING The application of the law of 27 January 2011 on women’s presence on corporate boards and the supervisory board of listed companies (Conseil de surveillance des entreprises cotées) will be monitored. Its scope will be extended to include all industrial and commercial public establishments in an action plan by the end of March 2013.

Ministers responsible for women’s rights, finance and production recovery will ask companies in the scope of the government participation agencies (Agence des participations de l’Etat) to establish proactive objectives to increase the number of women in governance bodies.

Companies of the social and solidarity economy will be invited by the minister responsible for the social and solidarity economy to establish proactive objectives to increase the number of women in their governance bodies that, in any case, cannot be fewer than the requirements set out in the law of 27 January 2011.

The minister of women’s rights and the minister of the economy and finance will write to the biggest companies (SBF 120 French stock market index) to inform them about the benefit of setting objectives to increase the number of women on their executive committees and management committees. Work has already been engaged with 18 big companies to define possible undertakings and the conditions needed to achieve them.

In consular networks, women only account for 12% of elected officials, and only 135 women per 1,006 men are bureau members. Measures taken in the chambers of agriculture, in chambers of trades and smallscale industry should be used to organise the chambers of commerce and industry. At the end of 2012, the minister of small-scale industry, commerce and tourism will launch a dialogue with presidents of chambers of commerce and industry on this issue. The performance contracts concluded between the State and the chambers of commerce and industry will support the improvement of equality in the chambers.  ENCOURAGING FEMALE ENTREPREURS Women only account for 30% of people starting or taking over companies. This situation is significant in small-scale industry and commercial businesses. A study conducted in late 2011 by OSEO, whose mission is to provide assistance and financial support to French SMEs and VSEs, on ten years of creating innovative companies in France likewise confirms this under-representation of women in the sector of innovative company start-ups: only one in ten newly created innovative companies is headed by a woman.

All the studies conducted in France or by the European Commission indicate that women create fewer companies with employment and innovation potential than men and there are fewer women heading VSEs than SMEs (12% of women among heads of companies with over 50 employees).

To change this situation and to give women the means to create their activity, a plan to encourage female entrepreneurs has been introduced including the following measures: 1. To simplify access to information, ministries are promoting the synergy of networks of women who have created companies. This should improve the sharing of practices and prevent the current problem of information being too dispersed.

2. At the initiative of the ministry of production recovery, a three-year call for projects will be launched in 2013 in networks to promote schoolchildren and university students to become entrepreneurs via the 23 hubs of student entrepreneurship. This call for projects 12

will support the potential and innovative company assistance networks, whether they be technology or service oriented.

3. To facilitate access to bank loans, it has been proposed to engage in action with the deposits and consignments fund (Caisse des dépôts et consignations) to increase the guarantees covered by a fund to support women’s initiatives (Fonds de garantie à l’initiative des femmes). The European microfinance facility will also be asked to participate.

Assistance in all sectors and requirements regarding the content of assistance services will be reinforced. In the agricultural sector, the modalities for this assistance will be defined in the meetings on installation.

In addition, female entrepreneurship will be promoted in action targeting bank networks. A charter will be proposed to the French bank federation and major bank networks.

The framework agreement signed between the State and the deposits and consignments fund to support women starting companies will be extended to include the standing assemblies of consular chambers. It will then be extended to regions, especially in those that will adopt a regional action plan based on an analysis of the area, and identifying the priority actions to conduct.  RETHINKING THE TAX AND SOCIAL INCENTIVES THAT REDUCE WOMEN’S LEVEL OF ACTIVITY A European Union study has shown that if the women’s employment rate was equal to men’s, France could increase its potential for growth by 15 to 40%. France can no longer ignore this reflection, which is essential to the competitiveness of our economy and whose tax and social implications are numerous. This reflection needs to rethink all the tax and social mechanisms that prevent the development of women’s employment rate across the board. A special study should be conducted on the Scandinavian models in which tax breaks to increase the income of second income providers are bigger than in France.

The government will ask the economic analysis board (Conseil d’analyse économique) to draft a report on this issue.  MAKING EQUALITY A PRIORITY IN THE REFLECTION ON PENSION REFORM SCHEDULED FOR 2013 At the major social conference, the government and social partners agreed that gender equality should be one of the objectives of an assessment being prepared by the pension board (Conseil d’orientation des retraites) and different pension reform options that will be drafted by an ad hoc commission in 2013.

The government will ensure the transposition of Directive 2010/41 of 7 July 2010 to strengthen the rights of assisting spouses. During negotiations on pension reform, participants will seek to improve women’s situation in the agricultural sector.

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MAKING REDUCING GENDER INEQUALITIES A FOCUS OF HEALTH DEMOCRACY Women have a higher life expectancy than men, at every age. Yet they seem to be in poorer health than men and declare more sicknesses (3.1 versus 2.2 for men). They likewise have a higher rate of refusing care for financial reasons.

We also noted considerable social disparities in reproductive health and in the organization of pregnancy care.

The regional health programmes of regional health agencies aim to adapt the national health strategy to be presented by the government to the needs identified in each health region. In this framework, the regional health strategies will take women’s specific needs into consideration.

These needs will be assessed in the existing consultation bodies of health democracy: regional health and autonomy conferences and regional conferences.  PREVENTING HIGH-RISK BEHAVIOUR It is important to: - Strengthen prevention of addictions, and particularly to alcohol and cigarettes, which women and particularly young women, develop more rapidly: change in women’s behaviour with respect to alcohol and cigarettes in recent decades is reflected in the growing mortality rate. Lung cancer is sharply rising among women: +105% between 1990 and 2005 while the rates are decreasing among men.

Prevention, awareness-raising and information campaigns should begin as early as possible, before exposure to risks.

- Prevent weight problems in high-risk women and reduce the prevalence of nutritional pathologies (under-nutrition, eating disorders): although cardiovascular mortality has dropped sharply over the past 30 years, it remains the main cause of female mortality, accounting for one in three deaths. Two in five women are overweight, with strong social and regional disparities.

- Educate women about sexually transmitted disease prevention.  IMPROVING THE PREVENTION AND SCREENING OF CHRONIC DISEASES THAT PARTICULARLY AFFECT WOMEN - Further improve cancer screening: Cancer has been increasing among women in recent years: 53,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. Breast cancer screening became widespread in early 2004 but the programme participation rate has levelled out. Moreover, colorectal cancer screenings, which became widespread in 2006 and colon and uterus screening, for which trials are being conducted, should be increased. These screenings are extremely insufficient in the most vulnerable social categories.

Therefore, it is important to prioritize prevention and screening actions, to improve the quality of care, and to eliminate obstacles to access to care.

- Improve detection and treatment of depression: At the same age and with the same marital status, job situation and education, women are 1.5 to 2 times more likely to experience depression than men.

Progress can be made in early prevention: between 30 and 40% of depressive women do not have access to any specific care.

These problems will be addressed specifically in the national health strategy.

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 ADOPTING A REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH STRATEGY BASED ON WOMEN’S FREEDOM OF CHOICE AND SEXUALITY EDUCATION The government has announced several measures in the area of reproductive health: - a circular was issued in early July 2012 on accessibility of abortion centres during summer; - 100% coverage of abortions and increase in the tariff to cover all costs paid by establishments during surgical abortions. This decision was included in the bill on social security financing for 2013; - 100% reimbursement of contraception for people under 18 years old, which was set out in an amendment to the bill on social security financing for 2013, under the appropriate anonymity conditions.

These decisions are important steps in returning coherence to reproductive health policy although 72% of abortions are performed for women using contraception. An assessment will be conducted on the implementation of the circular on the accessibility of abortion centres during summer. Directors of regional health agencies will continue to ensure every year that women who would like to have an abortion are treated in conditions that meet their needs when it comes to time, quality and accessibility.

Contraceptive failures question whether the contraception used by women in the different periods of their lives is effective. They also reveal the limits of health coverage that favours the pill over other methods of contraception. The national health board (Haute autorité de santé) will be asked to make a recommendation on methods of contraception. On that basis, national information campaigns on contraceptive methods will be organized, with the support of the national institute on prevention and education for health (Institut national de prévention et d’éducation pour la santé).

Sexuality education should address outdated social representations. Indeed, despite the fact that men and women’s sexual practices are becoming more similar (age of first sexual relations, the number of partners), social representations and sexuality are not changing much. A better coordination of actions by regional councils and those of the national health agencies will be sought. Regional councils that are taking action in “pass contraception” programmes providing young people with free contraception anonymously for a few months will be involved in these initiatives.  ADDRESSING SOCIAL INEQUALITIES IN PREGNANCY CARE Pregnancy then leaving the maternity ward can be particularly difficult for vulnerable mothers, and especially for single mothers, who find themselves alone with their infant. Professionals such as midwives and social workers can provide assistance to them and thereby facilitate the establishment of a parent-child bond. Home assistance to women who have recently given birth in the PRADO programme is being tested by the national health service and should become widespread in the first quarter of 2013. In this service offered to all women, special attention will be given to single mothers.

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PROTECT WOMEN FROM VIOLENCE In 2010-2011, some 200,000 women between 18 and 75 were victims of sexual violence outside of their homes and nearly

600,000 were victims of violence in their own homes, whether sexual or physical.

Today only one in ten battered women presses charges. Only half of the women who actually go to police

stations effectively file a complaint. The other half of women seeking protection, which means engaging in criminal proceedings, too often face complex problems that deter them: family constraints, desire to protect children, no alternative housing or fear. It is the responsibility of the government to eliminate these constraints and help women obtain protection either through criminal or civil proceedings, as the restraining order system now provides.

Violence against women is one of the biggest problems in society. It should be treated as such. This plague will therefore be monitored regularly in a national centre for violence against women. Further details will be provided shortly.

More than one in seven women consider their neighbourhood to be unsafe and one in ten do not feel safe in their own homes.

On 25 November 2012 on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, President Hollande asked the government to draft and implement a comprehensive plan for female victims of violence that aims to inform and assist victims.

It is expected to:  IMPROVE INITIAL CONTACT AND INCREASE PROTECTION A common telephone hotline platform for female victims of violence will be established by the end of 2013. A task force will determine specifications for this platform based on the network of existing numbers and will seek to improve their quality of service. The task force will analyse methods used in other countries and assess the legal and financial conditions needed for a 24-hour service which is in contact with professionals who treat female victims of violence.

The minister of justice, keeper of the seals, and the minister of women’s rights asked the inspectorate general of social affairs and the inspectorate general of judicial services to establish a joint task force on the conditions needed to apply a restraining order, problems encountered, along with the changes and improvements required. Legislative conditions can be included in a bill on women’s rights.

There is a lower rate of filing complaints for offences relating to violence against women than for other offences. It is also important to note that, when complaints are filed, they are often withdrawn at some point during proceedings. This means violence is often repeated.

Filing a complaint is the normal procedure for violence against women, particularly when it comes to domestic violence. Police draw up an official report of violence to establish a record of all the facts if a woman refuses to file a complaint or does not yet feel ready to do so. The gendarmerie has used other procedures, including reporting victims to social services.

An integrated assistance policy for female victims of violence will be implemented. It will be based on the following innovative measures:  The ministry of the interior will instruct police departments to transmit a copy of police reports systematically to the public prosecutor’s office when it involves violence against women.

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  

In order to provide female victims of violence with special assistance in police and gendarmerie forces, in connection with public prosecutor’s offices, a network will be established with all social services and associations assisting victims.

Social workers in gendarmerie units and in police stations and specialists in female victims of violence will continue to be deployed and supported. The inter-ministerial crime prevention fund (Fonds interministériel de prévention de la délinquance) will fund this deployment.

An assistance protocol for female victims of violence will be defined by the ministry of the interior in connection with the ministry of justice and the ministry responsible for housing under an agreement with the assembly of French departments.

A departmental scheme defining the conditions for action and particularly information sharing between the gendarmerie and police departments, hospitals, public prosecutor’s offices, courts and social services concerned, in compliance with principles governing the shared confidentiality, will be established department by department in departmental crime prevention boards (Conseils départementaux de prévention de la délinquance).

In 2013, statistics on domestic violence and spousal abuse will be specifically identified in monitoring tools (Etat 4001, a record of crime and offence statistics) of security forces. Definitions will be harmonized with the chancellery and partners to facilitate constant assistance to victims. Prefects and prosecutors will be invited to review regularly the changes in such violence in the departmental crime prevention boards.

Regional health agencies will implement plans that aim to strengthen the local network of forensic units and ask university hospitals to develop a network with local units.

In December, the government will receive the conclusions of the task force of the inspectorate general of social affairs on the health of prostitutes. This report will contribute to work on the fight against prostitution that the national assembly has engaged with a parliamentary group.

Fighting violence against women will be a priority of the new priority security zones implemented to address the realities identified in each territory. The participation of women in developing securityoriented public space is an important issue in improving living environments and reducing the feeling of insecurity. Against this backdrop, the government will conduct trials with municipalities by extending “marches exploratoires des femmes”, field surveys conducted with local authorities by groups of women living in a neighbourhood, the creation of a platform capable of tracking locations, with a simple signal sent by a telephone, black points in the public space. Development could on this basis be proposed to local authorities. A joint circular of the ministry of women’s rights, the ministry responsible for cities and the ministry of the interior will define the procedures for these trials in two priority solidarity zones, with the support of the inter-ministerial crime prevention fund.  PREVENT VIOLENCE BY RAISING AWARENESS AND EDUCATING Following the law on sexual harassment, the government has launched an information and awarenessraising campaign. This campaign was reinforced with ministerial circulars (labour, civil service, higher education and research, sport) to promote prevention and punishment for such acts, especially in work and study environments.

As President Hollande announced, a major national information campaign on violence against women will be conducted in early 2013.

In schools, actions to raise awareness and to fight sexist violence, to educate about respect and to teach about sexuality will help prevent dominating behaviours that do not respect gender equality.

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Training people working in the area of violence against women will be developed to improve listening skills, guidance and assistance for female victims of violence. It will concern all professionals, including doctors and other health professionals, social workers, teachers, security staff, judges, etc. Inter-disciplinary training modules will be developed by the inter-ministerial task force for the protection of female victims of violence (cf. infra).  DEAL WITH PERPETRATORS AND PREVENTING REPEAT OFFENCES The programmes dealing with perpetrators of domestic violence and spousal abuse will be developed by prison rehabilitation and probation services under the form of collective support groups.

Other initiatives could be planned after a consensus conference is held on the prevention of repeat offences that will issue its recommendations in February 2013.

Public prosecutor’s offices and judicial authorities will be reminded of the possibility of evicting a violent spouse more systematically when the wife so requests. The law of 4 April 2006 made this possible at every stage of criminal and civil proceedings (restraining order), yet it was only ordered in 13.7% of cases in 2011.

Prohibition measures ordered against perpetrators of violence against women will be communicated to gendarmerie and police forces to ensure that they are applied, especially with regard to such measures as judicial supervision, alternatives to proceedings, suspended sentences with probation, reduced sentences or parole. Victims will systematically be informed when the penalties end.  ASSIST THE VICTIMS Shelter, accommodation and housing conditions of female victims of violence will be improved:  As regards accommodation and access to housing, specific and appropriate capacities for female victims of violence will be built, taking regional needs into account. A third of the 5,000 emergency accommodation places that will be created over the next five years will be reserved for female victims of violence.  To improve the detection of spousal abuse and knowledge about specific responses to the problem, a standard agreement will be drawn up by the inter-ministerial delegate responsible for accommodation and access to housing for homeless or inadequately housed people to organize collaboration between an assistance and support information service (Service d’information d’accueil et d’orientation) and associations managing emergency accommodation and accommodation for women.  Access to long-term housing should be facilitated when a victim is required to leave their home. A circular to prefects will eliminate the administrative obstacles and practices that make it difficult for female victims of violence to obtain public housing. The issue of lack of solidarity when it comes to rental debts will be addressed.  An agreement will be signed between the ministry of higher education and research and the national centre of university student social services (Centre national des œuvres universitaires et scolaires) so that students who are victims of domestic violence in a couple or family have priority access to housing managed by regional centres of university student social services (Centres régionaux des œuvres universitaires et scolaires).

With a view to the multi-year plan for poverty eradication and social inclusion, the government will study ways to address the special situation of female victims of violence when calculating eligibility for an earned income supplement (Revenu de solidarité active).

The minister of the interior reminded prefects of the provisions facilitating the admission for residence of victims of spousal abuse, regardless of whether they benefit from a restraining order.

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 CREATE CONDITIONS TO PROVIDE MOBILE PHONES TO SIGNAL EXTREME DANGER ON A WIDESPREAD BASIS The government will end trials on electronic bracelets that can only be applied to perpetrators of crimes that are punishable by five years or sentenced to less than five years of prison. In its current state, this system is very rarely used and creates confusion for female victims of violence.

The trial “téléphone portable grand danger” programme, which provides emergency mobile phones to potential victims to signal extreme danger, carried out by the public prosecutor’s offices of Seine-SaintDenis, Bas-Rhin, Val d’Oise and Paris with regional and local authorities has produced conclusive results and will become widespread in 2013. The conditions for which are currently being discussed with the assembly of French departments.  CREATE AN INTER-MINISTERIAL TASK FORCE PROTECTION OF WOMEN AGAINST VIOLENCE

FOR

THE

In Seine-Saint-Denis in 2002, a departmental centre to monitor violence against women was created. It defined a set of initiatives adapted to the specificities of a region and based on a shared diagnosis, which ensures comprehensive assistance to the women concerned. This working method should become widespread and be based on local initiatives.

This is why an inter-ministerial task force to combat violence against women and to protect victims will be created. The task force will report to the ministry of women’s rights and aim to:  Collect and publish consolidated statistics and studies on the different types of violence (domestic violence, sexual violence, prostitution): the task force will benefit from anonymous transfers of information of the ministry of the interior and the chancellery. It will provide support for renewing the national survey on violence against women (Violences et rapports de genre : contextes et conséquences des violences suies par les femmes et par les hommes—VIRAGE survey) and will conclude cooperation agreements with the national centre to monitor crime and penal responses (Observatoire national de la délinquance et des réponses pénales) and the national institute of statistics and economic studies (Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques);  Organize local action to implement policy on providing protection to female victims of violence and disseminating innovations;  Define specifications for a cross-cutting inter-ministerial training plan for violence against women in order to ensure better job training (gendarmes, police officers, investigative judges, teachers, doctors, social workers).  Strengthen protection for victims of trafficking, regardless of whether they are involved in prostitution: the task force will monitor implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings and will prepare the implementation of measures to transpose Directive 2011/36/UE of 5 April 2011 on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and victim protection. It will revise the action plan that was drafted in 2011 and involve all government services. The ministry of the interior reminded prefects of the special conditions for resident permits for foreign victims of this offence.  COMBAT FORCED MARRIAGE AND POLYGAMY French judges could apply foreign legislation when dealing with a case on personal status (civil status, marriage, inheritance, capacities) of a foreign national. Also some foreign legislation recognizes repudiations, non-consensual marriages and polygamous marriage.

Limits beyond which French judges no longer apply foreign legislation are determined by public policy and international commitments of France. Repudiations, the absence of a lawyer in divorce proceedings, or the absence of a compensatory allowance, maintenance and damage in a divorce judgement, were judged differently from the French conception of international public policy.

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Since 2004, French judges no longer recognize repudiation. The principle of equality of spouses is set out in Article 5 of Protocol No. 7 to the European Convention on Human Rights. Under this Article, the French court of appeal refused recognition in France of a decision of repudiation.

To combat forced marriage, French law sets requirements for the validity of a marriage that takes place in another country. Since 1993, marriages celebrated in the absence of a spouse are considered null and void. In 2003, a principle was established on hearing future spouses prior to the marriage or before the foreign marriage certificate can be transcribed in a French civil register of births, marriages and deaths.

The government will ask the national advisory commission on human rights ( Commission nationale consultative des droits de l’homme) to conduct an in-depth evaluation of the consequences of personal status on women’s rights and to propose legal changes that are still needed before the end of March 2013.

The government will transpose provisions of the Istanbul Convention on the creation of an offence of forcing someone to get married and an offence of encouraging someone to undergo genital mutilation.

To combat polygamy, French legislation has prohibited polygamous spouses from living in France and penalizes polygamy in its territory. The ministry of the interior reminded prefects that foreign nationals who are in a polygamous relationship in national territory could not become legal residents.

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INCLUDING EQUALITY IN ALL THE GOVERNMENT ACTION PLANS The equality requirement will be fully addressed in institutional reforms that will be decided when the Jospin report is completed. This concerns the bill on the election of departmental councillors, municipal

councillors and Community delegates, and changing the election calendar. The voting system chosen will strictly ensure equality in departmental assemblies; currently only 13.8% of their members are women. During the next renewal, two departmental councillors will be elected in each district with a majority vote in two rounds. Candidates will run for office in pairs and each pair must be made up of a man and woman.

Equality in the workplace in the civil service is part of efforts to promote social responsibility of government employers and to make public services more efficient.

A series of dialogues with trade unions sitting on the joint council of the civil service and representatives of regional and hospital employers on equality in the workplace in the civil service were launched on 20 September 2012. Three themes were discussed: social dialogue as a driver of gender equality, women’s careers and finding a work-life balance.  Advancing equality in public policy After measures aiming at ensuring equality in local elections, the government will seek equality in national elections, based on the proposals of the commission on the renovation and code of conduct of public life (Commission de rénovation et de déontologie de la vie publique).  Implementing equality in the workplace in the civil service The agreement protocol established at the end of discussions will be submitted for signature by all stakeholders in the negotiations and should be implemented in each ministerial department, each public institution and each establishment in the hospital civil service, as part of local social dialogue.

Article 56 of the law of 12 March 2012 provides that starting 2018, every calendar year, appointments to higher level jobs and management posts should concern at least 40% of people of each gender. In 2013, the minimal proportion of people of each gender who are required to be appointed to these jobs is set at 20%.

Every year, the minister of the civil service will report to the council of ministers on each of these jobs, and the number and the distribution per gender of appointments made.

Each ministry will adopt an exemplary State action plan in 2013. Each plan will be for the period 2013-2017, discussed with trade unions in ministries and include the best practices of all the ministries.

A most advanced administration clause will be applied in government administrations via the network of senior officials working on equality issues. On the basis of an inventory compiled by the ministry of women’s rights and the ministry responsible for the civil service, gender equality best practices can then be used in all the government administrations in the management of human resources.  Disseminating an equality approach among independent administrative authorities and the main advisory bodies of the State The main gender equality actions will be disseminated by all the ministries to their agencies. In this regard each ministry will include in its roadmap the current situation of entities in each of the agencies it manages and will schedule the implementation of the equality approach. The proportion of qualified people of each 21

gender appointed to the boards, supervisory boards or similar bodies of public establishments (except for public industrial and commercial establishments) cannot be lower than 40% as of the second renewal.

On this basis, the ministry of women’s rights is preparing an appraisal of the current situation.

New appointment principles will be proposed by the end of March 2013 in order to ensure equal numbers of men and women, if they are unequal, in the major government bodies, particularly the independent administrative authorities and the main advisory bodies. This requirement will not concern personnel representatives.  Addressing gender equality in city policy The issue of women will be systematically taken into account in the priority principles of the overhaul of city policy, in a mandatory gender equality component in city contracts.

A company start-up assistance programme for women in neighbourhoods will be established with the fund for women’s initiatives (Fonds de garantie pour l’initiative des femmes), which receives support from the European Union.  Leading public debate on women’s rights policy and evaluate the progress made in women’s rights After Danielle Bousquet completes her work on reform of the equality monitoring centre, a gender equality board (Haut conseil à l’égalité entre les femmes et les hommes) will be set up. The secretariat will be ensured by the women’s rights service. The board will aim to lead public debate on women’s rights and gender equality policy and to evaluate the application of legislation on equality.

This new advisory board will bring together nationally and locally elected officials, qualified personalities, government administrations and associations. It will assume the duties of the equality monitoring centre (Observatoire de la parité), the national commission on violence against women (Commission nationale contre les violences envers les femmes) and the commission on the image of women in the media (Commission sur l’image des femmes dans les médias). It will conduct a regular evaluation of impact studies by the government in the area of equality.

The national institute of statistics and economic studies will develop statistics and studies to better assess situations of inequality according to gender: the gender variable will be introduced in all the appropriate surveys when it comes to the statistical method and the subject of the survey. At regional level, the gender-based statistics will be integrated into the standard range of studies proposed by the national institute of statistics and economic studies.  Capitalizing on best practices of regional and local authorities Many regional and local authorities have promoted gender equality locally in the implementation of policy guidelines, everyday actions and financial choices. About one hundred of them have abided by the European charter for equality of men and women in local life. It has helped them implement a comprehensive equality policy. Others have preferred to perform one-off actions.

The deputy Vincent Feltesse will be responsible for taking stock of existing public policies at local level and explaining how the different categories of local and regional authorities can conduct them depending on their competence. He will signal the most promising trials and will study how better organization can capitalize on such trials.

Large associations representing regional and local authorities will take part in such efforts through contractual agreements.

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AFFIRM WOMEN’S RIGHTS AT INTERNATIONAL LEVEL

Violence against women is the number one plague against humanity. Globally it causes more deaths of women aged 15 to 44 than cancer, malaria, traffic accidents and war combined. Some 650,000 women worldwide are victims of human trafficking every year. In 80% of cases, they are trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation. Lastly, some 100 to 140 million women and girls worldwide suffer female genital mutilation.

We must come up with a genuine women’s rights diplomacy to face these challenges. Defending women’s rights has long been one of the focuses of our foreign policy. It is naturally part of our efforts to defend human rights that we have brought onto the international stage.  At European level Gender equality is one of the first competencies of the European Union in social affairs and represents the most legislation. Gender equality is fully addressed in European treaties. It is one of the common values on which the European Union is founded. The Charter of Fundamental Rights also institutes this equality and prohibits any discrimination based on gender. Moreover, the European Union, in all its actions, has an obligation to seek to eliminate inequalities and promote gender equality. European social policy is largely based on a Europe that is concerned with women’s rights. We must bring that idea back to the forefront.

France will study, in connection with the European Commission, new solutions to revive negotiations on the directive on parental leave with a broader focus on work-life balance.

France will support the Council of European Union and the European Parliament’s adoption of an ambitious directive on improving the gender balance among non-executive directors of companies listed on stock exchanges. This directive should act on the fact that simple incentive measures are insufficient given that there are still only 13.7% female directors in the big European companies listed on stock exchanges.

When the European Union directives on public procurement are revised, France will ask partners and the European Commission to ensure that the gender equality dimension is better taken into account in public procurement, particularly with social clauses.

France will propose elements for an equality pillar of new economic governance of the European Union to its partners and the European Commission built on a dashboard with several indicators: the evolution of women’s employment rate, wage inequalities, gender inequalities in the pension system and respect of the Barcelona objectives (early childhood care). On this basis, the European Commission will be invited to issue a recommendation systematically to Member States on equality policies in country recommendations.

In this connection, France has committed to integrating gender quality dimensions in its national reform programme.

France will draft proposals in order to define a framework ensuring full application of the principle of equality in the access to responsibilities in all European Union bodies. It would like the European Council to make strong commitments in this area when leadership roles are determined in the decision-making bodies in the European Central Bank and the future bank supervision mechanism. This new body should provide an opportunity to come up with ways to ensure gender equality in European Union bodies.

In 2013 France plans to organize a European event to advance gender equality.

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 At international level In 2013 France will host the summit of European ministers of women’s rights in the Mediterranean region.

In 2013 France will likewise host a ministerial meeting of the Union for the Mediterranean on enhancing women’s role in society.

Francophonie has long made the role of women in francophone societies an important part of its action. With this in mind, and to supplement the ministerial meeting of Union for the Mediterranean meeting on women, France will also hold the very first meeting of a world forum for francophone women (Forum mondial des femmes francophones) in connection with the International Organization of La Francophonie, UNESCO, UN Women and the Member States.

These international meetings held by France will help actively prepare upcoming international conferences, particularly the one on the 20th anniversary of the Cairo International Conference on Populations and Development during which the issue of the right to have control over one’s own body will be addressed.

Since women are major drivers of development, French official development assistance policy will step up specific actions to promote equality and autonomy of women by increasing financial resources for specific projects to support women’s rights and to combat gender discrimination and violence.

Actions focusing on economic autonomy of women, the schooling of girls and maternal and child mortality will be pursed and reinforced while research conducted by government institutions, NGOs, university and research centres on the issue of gender and development will be better recorded, recognized and promoted.

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