New opportunities for women in France: The case of Ségolène Royal

Résumé du document

Throughout the history of France, it seems that women have always appeared to be inferior to men, at least since the settling process in the Gallic period. The dominant religion, Catholicism, has intensified this state of mind as it considers God as superior to men, and men that are superior to women. Thus, the presupposed inferiority of women is not a new issue. However, a turning point might be the French Revolution in 1789, as a Constitution was written, creating concepts of “liberty, equality, and fraternity” in the French society. We will see why this attempt to universalism sets women apart and how women struggled to balance men's power. The climax of this evolution might be reached soon, as a woman is running for the supreme power: to become the next president of the French Republic. In a first part, we will see the family and equality at work and at home; then, we will question the concept of parity. In a third part, we will analyse the impat of the French revolution. In a fourth part, we will study current divergent opinions about parity. In a last part, we will examine the case of Ségolène Royal, and see if she is an example to follow.

Extraits

[...] Therefore, she just expects that talented women be recognised in a fair way. On the contrary, once women attain the same level of employment and recognition as men, they should not overtake this; otherwise, it is no more equal opportunity, but only a reverse of the current tendency. V. Ségolène Royal, a model to fellow ? Ségolène Royal represents a model for the majority of women. Although she is not married, she has four children. She managed to work and raise her children at the same time, bringing them at work if necessary and answering the phone in important meeting when they called her. [...]

[...] This is illustrated by the nickname given to the socialists - the “elephants”. This means on the one hand, once they reach a representative level, they do not leave. On the other hand, males impose their authority. Women gained the right to vote in April 1945, but this still did not allow them equal access to men's rights. Hence, the problem was no longer about being represented, but about being a representative. From the 1980s, women were not alone in their struggle for a better representation in politics. [...]

[...] Equal opportunities should mostly benefit women who have responsibilities within companies or in politics as this is where the difference of wages is the most salient. On the contrary, for workers at the factory work level, this might not be a big deal. A new image is being drawn from women. Consequently, new stereotypes might emerge from it, and they might be positive. Thus, qualities that are considered as feminine like intuition, capacities to detect problems quickly, and courage to face realities because of their education might be recognised by men as useful for the society. [...]

[...] The Parity law attributes a certain quota to women to achieve gender equality at all the political levels. In fact, parity can be defined as the sign of a crisis of democracy or as a crisis or representation. Indeed, Scott (2005, 12) explains that there was no law that prevented women from being representatives, but there is an almost “tacit agreement” concluded from males who did not want to make way for women. By doing so, they are able to maintain their power and superiority over women. [...]

[...] In a last part, we will examine the case of Ségolène Royal, and see if she is an example to follow. I. Family and equality at work and at home Evolution thanks to new fields of research From 1970s, sociologists and economists developed the concept of 'domestic production' at a microeconomic level. This had major consequences in the way women considered themselves in their relationship to the domestic sphere was used to describe the work done by women. There was something more than a presupposed duality between work and leisure (see appendix 1). [...]