Women in France

Anna Mayer

GWS 220W

Women in the World

Women in France

            Women in France face similar issues as the ones that are dealt with by women in the United States.  These French women lead comparable lives to women living in many other well developed countries throughout the world.  Important subject matter for women in France includes: marriage, homosexuality, family life and pregnancy, working, various types of education, health status, religion, domestic violence and politics. Though the issues are similar among women in various countries, the ways that their government has decided to deal with them can be very different from how things are handled in the United States.

            Marriage rates in France are known to be decreasing while the amount of unmarried couples living together increases.  In France, marriage is seen as both a religious and civil institution which means that often times, there are two different ceremonies – one that is religious, and another that takes place in city hall (Walter, 2003, p. 211).  The marriage rate is currently declining, while the age of marriage is increasing.  As of 2003, the average age of marriage for women is 26-years-old and for men, it is 28-years-old.  While marriage rates are going down, cohabitation is becoming more and more popular among the French.  Over half of all women under age twenty five in France that are living with a partner, are unmarried (Walter, 2003, p. 212).

France is a country that is known to support homosexuality yet homosexuals living there are not always treated equally.  Lesbians in France are given fewer rights than straight people or people in heterosexual couples are granted.  Lesbians in France are protected legally from discrimination based on sexual orientation and some labor laws that do not allow discrimination in the workplace.  As of 1999, lesbian couples now have a legal status that is available to any cohabitating couples.  This union is called the Civil Solidarity Pact and it gives couples the same rights of tax, housing, social welfare and inheritance that married couples do but the CSP pact is easier to get out of than a marriage is (Walter, 2003, p. 216).  Lesbian couples living in France may adopt children as single parents but they cannot adopt children together as a couple with the exception of one being the biological mother, than the other woman can adopt the child.  Artificial insemination is available in France but only to heterosexual couples that are married (Walter, 2003, p. 216). 

            Families in France are similarly sized to families in the United States.  As of 2005, the average number of children per household in France is 2.1 or fewer (Seager, 2009, p. 35).  Most married women with children still work at least part time and they are typically expected to continue carrying the burden of domestic labor within the home (Walter, 2003, p. 209).  Despite the fact that majority of with children have jobs, they do around 80% of the housework while 60% of men in French households do not do any housework at all (Walter, 2003, p. 211).  Free health insurance is provided to large families with stay-at-home moms.  Additionally, France provides Family Allowance Funds to every family which helps cover the cost of raising children (Walter, 2003, p. 210).  Maintaining your job status in France while pregnant is not an issue due to laws that require that women may not be fired or jeopardized for a career advancement opportunity because they are on leave.  It is also required that women are given their same position back upon returning after their at least fourteen weeks of paid pregnancy leave (Walter, 2003, p. 209). 

The work force in France is similar to what most Americans are used to in the United States.  Though many women in France do work at least part time, they have a higher unemployment rate then men (Stange, 2011, p. 585).  Usually wealthier French women stay at home and oversee the domestic duties while working-class women hold jobs that are typically associated with “women’s work” such as factory and domestic work (Walter, 2003, p. 211).  Wives of France’s urban elite benefit from the power and wealth accrued by their family (Schaus, 2006, p. 300).  Women earn 25 percent less than men on average which is somewhat explained by the difference in jobs that women and men work; women more often work in lower paid fields.  Even when men and women are in equal lines of work and when they have similar qualifications, there is still a seven percent pay gap between women and men with men earning more (Stange, 2011, p. 585).

The school system in France works fairly similar to the way it does in America, especially in regard to the age that children typically start attending school.  Many people in France start attending school at a young age – ninety-five percent of all three to six-year-old children go to nursery school (Walter, 2003, p. 209).  The educational system in France is said to hold a high reputation for excellence, especially in secondary and even higher education (Walter, 2003, p. 206).  For every 100 French males that attend higher education, there are 120 French females doing the same.  Though they are receiving the same quality of education at universities, females are paying slightly more than males to attend school (Walter, 2003, p. 207).  Additionally, females in France have less opportunities than males do when it comes to education (Walter, 2003, p. 206).

            Sex education and safe sex are topics that are discussed freely and openly in France.  Sex education is widely available all across France and it is taught in schools.  Teens have access to health care services to receive contraception within their high schools along with access to morning-after pills and medical exams (Walter, 2003, p. 212).  As of 1994, 97 percent of women who did not want to become pregnant were using birth control  and the most popular forms in France are the pill and sterilization.  Abortion has been legal in France since 1975 and it is available to women of all ages but there are some restrictions.  It is free up until 10 weeks of pregnancy and second trimester abortions are available, but only if the pregnancy will threaten the woman’s life.  There are 18.4 abortions performed per 100 conceptions in France in 1991 (Walter, 2003, p. 213).   

            Women in France lead healthier lives and have higher life expectancies than most women living in other countries.  French women lead fairly long and healthy lives.  Their life expectancy is higher than in any other European country (Walter, 2003, p. 214).  These women have a life expectancy of 84 years which ranks them in the top 10 countries (Seager, 2009, p. 16).  Men in France, on the other hand, have a life expectancy of 77.8 years (Stange, 2011, p. 585).  The leading causes of death of women living in France are cancer and heart disease.  The leading types of cancer in French women are breast and uterine.  This is likely attributed to a combination of a diet (typically including a lot of wine) and lifestyle which is known as the “French paradox”.  Despite the amount of cheese and butter they consume, French residents still have fairly low levels of heart disease among their people (Walter, 2003, p. 214).  Part of the reason these women are healthy is because France has national health care insurance and 99 percent of French residents have some type of health care.  This health care is available in both public and private clinics and hospitals (Walter, 2003, p. 213).

            Religion does not play a very large role in the lives of the French.  Within France, 88% of the country are Roman Catholic, 5-10% are Muslim, 2% are Protestant, 1% are Jewish and about 4% have no religious affiliation (Stange, 2011, p. 584).  Historically, females in France have been really active in church attendance.  Females cannot be priests but they can give out communion and read scripture.  About fourteen percent of women in France consider themselves practicing Catholics.  Additionally, thirty-nine percent of women over eighteen in France consider themselves Catholic but not “practicing” Catholics (Walter, 2003, p. 217). 

            Domestic violence is an issue that women in France are currently facing.  Each year, ten percent of women are victims of domestic violence which ranges from verbal insults to rape (Walter, 2003, p. 218).  Young women, between ages twenty and twenty-four, are twice as likely to become victims of domestic violence than other women are (Walter, 2003, p. 218).  French laws penalize rape with a minimum of a fifteen year prison sentence.  Prostitution is legal in France and there are some regulations regarding it but they are hard to maintain.  Sex trafficking and tourism continues to be an issue in France despite some political and legal measures to combat them.  Majority of victims of sex trafficking are women that are taken from France to Cameroon and Nigeria, Africa, China, Bulgaria and Romania and the former Soviet Union and they are forced into sexual servitude (Stange, 2011, p. 586).

            Government and politics are topics that are not commonly discussed among French women.  During the nineteenth century, the cultivation of family life became an increasing preoccupation for middle class women and these women were expected to abstain from commerce and politics while devoting themselves to feminine arts in the home along with charity work (Stange, 2011, p. 585).  Women in France received the right to vote in 1944 which was a lot later than in other European nations (Walter, 2003, p. 215).  As of the early 2000’s, political parties are not required to put forth an equal number of male and female candidates for elections at each of the local, national or European levels.  If they fail to comply with this, there will be financial penalties or ineligibility.  This change has led to an increase in representation in legislature (Smith, 2008, p. 334).  Near the end of the 70’s, France was second to Sweden in ranks for the highest number of women in government positions that are highly ranked (Stange, 2011, p. 585).  Usually French women vote for more conservative candidates though this has changed since the mid 80’s.  This shift from conservative to liberal voting has been influenced by the rise in labor-force participation and feminism along with the decline in religious participation (Walter, 2003, p. 215).
Bibliography

Schaus, M. (2006). Women and gender in medieval Europe: an encyclopedia. New York: Routledge.

Seager, J. (2009). The Penguin atlas of women in the world. 4th ed., completely rev. and   updated. New York: Penguin Books.

Smith, B. G. (2008). The Oxford encyclopedia of women in world history. [Oxford]: Oxford         University Press.

Stange, M. Zeiss., Sloan, J., Oyster, C. K. (2011). Encyclopedia of women in today's world.           Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Reference.

 Walter, L. (2003). The Greenwood encyclopedia of women's issues worldwide. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press.