Female employees still earn less than men

Female employees of France's private sector earned 28% less than men in 2010. Since 1995, gender wage gaps have narrowed slightly, in particular because of the rising proportion of women in management-level jobs. However, women still hold more than 70% of clerical jobs, which represent the lowest wage levels. Wide differences in gender distribution persist between economic sectors. In retailing and many services, women hold the great majority of jobs. These sectors often record the lowest hourly wages and shortest working hours for both men and women. In the tertiary sector as a whole, women earn on average 27.5% less than men. In manufacturing and construction, gender wage gaps are smaller but female employees earn on average 18.8% less than men. In the public sector, the gender wage gap in 2010 was 18%, or ten points less than in the private sector. However, the gap has remained stable in the past decade.