Evaluation of the Professional Equality Index - Institute of Public Policies

Context

In September 2018, the French government introduced a series of measures aimed at reducing gender inequality, including the introduction of the Professional Equality Index. Since 2019, all private companies with more than 50 employees have been required to calculate this indicator and achieve a minimum score on the Index; failure to do so may result in penalties.

This Index introduces, for the first time in policies to combat gender-related inequalities, an obligation on companies to achieve specific results, rather than merely an obligation to make efforts. It provides a summary of several indicators, each relating to a specific aspect of gender inequality in the workplace, and is calculated on the basis of the employment situation of male and female employees within companies.

Presentation

This project aims to assess the impact of the introduction of the Gender Equality Index on gender inequalities within organisations. To this end, it draws on data reported by companies and detailed administrative data on pay and hours worked by all private-sector employees.

Research Team

This project is led by the pole Labour.

Joyce Sultan Parraud

Thomas Breda

Marion Leturcq

Juliette Ducoulombier

Paul Dutronc-Postel

Maxime Tô

Publication

The initial findings of this project were presented at a press conference on 6 March 2023.

> View the presentation

> Read the report summary

The full, consolidated version of the report has been publicly available since 7 April 2023.

> Read the full report

Method and Data

Data

administrative data from the ‘Tous Salariés’ database, including the remuneration received and hours worked each year by all employees
administrative data from the ‘Indexegapro’ database, which contains the figures reported (overall score and components) by companies and economic and social units since 2018, as part of the obligation to report and publish the Index

The ‘Base Tous Salariés’ database makes it possible to measure gender inequalities within each company each year and to compare how these inequalities have evolved over time for companies both affected by and not affected by the implementation of the Professional Equality Index. By combining it with the “Indexegapro” database, it is then possible (i) to examine in detail the proportions of companies and employees theoretically and actually affected by the implementation of the Index, (ii) to compare the extent of gender inequalities in companies that report a calculable Index with those that do not report one or state that it cannot be calculated, and to (iii) compare the scores reported by companies for the Index with gender inequalities as reconstructed from the ‘Tous Salariés’ database.