In 2023, in the state civil service, nearly two‑thirds of employees were women, yet the highest‑paid senior management posts remained predominantly held by men. This under‑representation of women in the highest‑paying roles reflected gender‑differentiated careers and salary trajectories.

By following the careers of civil servants who entered one of the grands corps de l’État (civil service corps with senior management responsibilities) via a training pathway in the 1980s, this study highlights the persistence of gender inequalities throughout professional careers, both in terms of unequal access to top‑paid positions and in ongoing pay gaps.

While the share of women in the grands corps de l’État had increased significantly since the late 1970s, gender parity at the time of recruitment was still far from being achieved: the proportion of women among students to the grands corps de l’État had stagnated since the late 2000s, fluctuating between 32% and 41% in the administrative grands corps and between 25% and 36% in the technical grands corps. Moreover, men tended to leave the grands corps de l’État more often and earlier, mainly to move into the private sector.

Despite measures promoting equity, gender pay gaps within the grands corps de l’État built up from the start of careers, accumulating and widening over time. After thirty uninterrupted, full‑time years of service, women who began their careers in the administrative grands corps in the 1980s lost the equivalent of 276 ,600 euros in 2022 euros. For those who started in the technical grands corps, the cumulative gap stood at 162, 900 euros.

These gender‑based pay inequalities were most pronounced among the highest‑paid employees, as men’s salaries showed greater dispersion than women’s.