At 16:48 tomorrow, French women start working for free
#8NOVEMBRE16H48. This hashtag, created by the newsletter Les Glorieuses, results from a calculation based on France's gender pay gap. According to Eurostat, the gap between what men and women earn in France is 13.9%. This means that, symbolically, women work for free from 8 November until the end of 2024. This virtual protest, in its tenth year, has the merit of reopening an annual discussion on the unfair remuneration of women. The first date published by Les Glorieuses in 2016 fell on 7 November.
So, what has changed over the past decade? Progress has been slow. Sweden, known for its progressive work policies and research on equal pay, still had an 11% gender pay gap in 2022. In the same year, Estonia had the highest European gender pay gap at 21.3%, followed by Austria, Switzerland, and Czechia. Luxembourg had a negative pay gap – meaning women outearn men – and Italy, Romania, and Belgium had less than 5% gaps.
A dozen European countries also observe a national 'Equal Pay Day' based on their respective pay gaps. If you don't have one, the EU average is 15 November.
That said, let's be careful with numbers: a lower gender gap can also mean that women have a lower employment rate in their country and that the few ones entering the labour market are the most highly educated.