France’s commitment to gender equality.

Technopolis Paris will soon be starting work on a 6-month project with the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs to conduct an assessment of the extent to which France is meeting the objectives contained in its international strategy for equality between women and men (2018-2022). This work is strategically important, with Emmanuel Macron having highlighted gender equality as a key action area of his presidency. It is also important given the current international context. The Covid-19 crisis has disproportionately affected women and girls- they are more likely to suffer insufficient access to healthcare, have experienced increased domestic violence as a result of repeated lockdowns, and are disproportionately affected by economic impacts, often working in informal and/or heavily impacted sectors such as tourism and catering. Sexual violence remains a weapon of war in conflict zones. Finally, conservativism is on the rise and sexual and reproductive health and rights are increasingly threatened.

France’s international strategy for equality between women and men is an ambitious document with wide-ranging goals. It aims to lead by example, promoting a stronger institutional culture of gender equality within the ministry and its agencies. It also aims to bolster political support for gender issues, better finance equality actions, make action for equality more visible and strengthen ties with civil society, the private sector and research stakeholders in order to fight gender inequality. This project will review a large volume of qualitative data relating to the indicators in the strategy, and the results will feed into a larger public evaluation carried out by the High Council for Gender Equality (HCE) beginning at the end of 2022.