The fifth objective is specifically dedicated to the empowerment of girls and women. It addresses gender equality and aims to eliminate, worldwide, all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls. The defined targets focus in particular on combating discrimination and violence against women, ensuring women’s access to leadership and decision-making positions, and guaranteeing universal access to sexual and reproductive rights. This objective operates in close interrelation with the other sixteen Sustainable Development Goals : it supports the design and implementation of all public policies through a gender-responsive approach and encourages the adoption of targeted policies to address persistent inequalities, which require positive measures in favour of women.
SDG5 - Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
Where does France stand?
Domestic challenges
In France, policy in favour of women’s rights has emerged as a policy of gender equality. The aim is not to recognise specific rights for women but, on the contrary, to put an end to the discrimination they suffer.
In November 2017, on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the President of the Republic declared equality between women and men to be a “major national cause”. Since then, efforts have been made on a number of priorities : education and the cultural fight for equality, support for victims of violence and strengthening the repressive arsenal, and equality in the workplace.
The aim of this proactive French equality policy is to give effect to the principle of equality enshrined in the laws of the Republic, and to bring about change in the everyday lives of women. To this end, France has a dedicated ministry and ambitious interministerial action programmes.
15.6% of French women, or 1 in 6 say they have been the victim of physical or sexual violence by a partner at least once since the age of 15, and 1 in 4 of psychological violence. Women are also the main victims of sexual violence by a non-partner : 16.8% of women said they had been victims in 2021 (Ministry of the Interior/Eurostat, Genèse survey, 2023).
France’s actions
Several recent laws bear witness to the determination of the public authorities and France’s commitment to equality between women and men :
The law of 4 August 2014 for real equality between women and men introduced several measures in the world of work including a ban on access to public procurement contracts for companies that do not comply with professional equality requirements, or the obligation for companies with more than 50 employees to file their agreement or action plan relating to professional equality. This law also requires regional authorities and public establishments of intercommunal cooperation (EPCI) with their own tax system with a population of more than 20,000 to present a report on the gender equality situation before the budget is voted (Article 61 of the law of 4 August 2014 on real equality between women and men).
The law of 21 February 2014 on city planning and urban cohesion makes equality between women and men a cross-cutting theme of city contracts.
The law of 17 August 2015 on social dialogue and employment followed by the law of 8 August 2016, on work, the modernisation of social dialogue and securing career paths, the former inserted an article in the Labour Code prohibiting all sexist behaviour, while the latter strengthened the prevention of and fight against sexist behaviour in the workplace.
The law of 13 April 2016 aimed at stepping up the fight against the prostitution system and supporting prostitutes aims to provide better support and care for prostitutes by strengthening the means of investigating and prosecuting human trafficking and procuring.
From September to November 2019 the “Grenelle” (round table) to combat domestic violence was held, from which emerged a wide range of proposals for improving actions to prevent and combat domestic violence. The law of 30 July 2020 implements into law the work of the Grenelle against domestic violence.
The law for the freedom to choose one’s professional future, announced in September 2018, introduced an indicator to measure pay inequalities within companies with at least 50 employees - known as the Professional Equality Index.
The Rixain law of December 2021 also established a new indicator for the education system, with the publication of an index of equal opportunities between women and men by higher education establishments for each of their courses. The law has also established, from 2026, quotas for women in executive management positions and management bodies in large companies (in addition to the provisions already in force for boards of directors).
The State’s commitment to gender equality in the workplace is continuing successfully. Indicators show that France is making progress on gender equality, coming 15th out of 156 in the World Economic Forum’s ranking for 2022.
The law of 28 February 2023 created universal emergency assistance for victims of domestic violence, providing financial support to help victims protect themselves by taking shelter and dealing with immediate expenses.
Internationally
The 2018-2022 Gender and Development Strategy was adopted in consultation with civil society and aims to strengthen achievements in terms of gender equality and the traceability and accountability of development aid, compared with the previous strategy. Through this text, France is placing women’s rights diplomacy at the heart of its external action. For the first time, the issue of gender equality has been integrated into all international policies (i.e. influence, economic, cultural).
The Generation Equality Forum, launched in 2021, is co-chaired by France and remains the leading global initiative to accelerate investment and its implementation in gender equality.
As part of the Muskoka initiative, France has supported sexual and reproductive health programmes in nine French-speaking African countries, to the sum of €100 million over the period 2011-2015. The Fund has been topped up by a further €10 million each year between 2017 and 2022.
To combat gender equality in schools, France is supporting the Gender at the Centre Initiative - (GCI), launched under the French presidency of the G7 in 2019 to boost girls’ education and promote the integration of gender equality into education policies. The initiative is present in eight pilot countries : Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, Chad, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Mozambique.
Announced in 2019 by the President of the French Republic and launched on 15 July 2020, the Support Fund for Feminist Organizations (FSOF) aims to support feminist civil society organisations in countries that are partners of France’s development and international solidarity policy. Co-managed by the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE) and the French Development Agency (AFD), this fund is part of France’s feminist diplomacy and France’s International Strategy for Gender Equality 2018-2022. In September 2023, on the fringes of the United Nations General Assembly, France announced the terms and conditions for the renewal of the FSOF, and the mobilisation of a budget of €250 million over five years for the FSOF (2023-2027).
The law of 19 July 2023 aimed at increasing women’s access to positions of responsibility in the civil service aims to accelerate the feminisation of the senior civil service. It raises the mandatory quota of first appointments of women to senior and executive positions to 50% and introduces a professional equality index in the civil service.
Several plans and guides have also been put in place to structure public action, such as :
The Interministerial Plan for Equality between Women and Men 2023-2027 aims to continue the proactive policy supported by the government as a whole since 2017. Presented by the Prime Minister and the Minister Delegate for Equality between Women and Men and the Fight against Discrimination, on International Women’s Day on 8 March 2023, it comprises 161 measures divided into four priority areas, which will guide the action of the ministries over the next few years :
- Area 1 - Combating violence against women.
- Area 2 - Women’s health.
- Area 3 - Professional and economic equality.
- Area 4 - A culture of equality.
- The National Plan to Combat Exploitation and Trafficking of Human Beings 2024-2027 was launched on Monday 11 December 2023. The plan is divided into six areas, with cross-cutting measures covering all forms of exploitation, as well as thematic areas specific to each form or trafficking, so that each one is identified, as the associations wanted.
The National Strategy to Combat Endometriosis was launched on 14 February 2022, with the aim of better informing the public, better diagnosing and treating women suffering from endometriosis and developing research into this disease which currently affects one in ten women.
The National Action Plan against gender-based and sexual violence in higher education and research - 2021-2025 was launched on 26 October 2021, and consists of 21 measures, structured around four main areas : 1/ Training and awareness-raising for the entire higher education and research community, 2/ Strengthening reporting mechanisms and their operation, 3/ Communicating the existence of reporting mechanisms, 4/ Promoting the commitment of students and staff.
The digital gender diversity sector-specific plan signed on 31 January 2017 is a driving force for mobilisation and action to promote gender equality within the sector.
The Equality. My produced by the French Ministry of Labour is aimed at VSEs and SMEs and aims to remove the obstacles linked to stereotypes and promote the development of action plans for professional equality.
The European Directive of 10 May 2023 on pay transparency must be transposed into national law by 2026. This directive provides for binding measures to improve the transparency of pay in companies and creates a European index of professional equality, which will require the national index to be revised. The transposition work is being managed by the French Ministry of Labour, with the aim of presenting a bill by the end of 2024 and transposing the directive in 2025.