The Women's - Men's Equality Index

Equality between women and men has been declared a major national cause of the five-year term by the President of the Republic, and is the subject of a global action plan by the government.

In September 2018, legislative measures were adopted along these lines in the law for the freedom to choose one's professional future.

From now on, equal pay for men and women in equivalent positions in the workplace will be subject to an obligation of results, and no longer simply an obligation of means.

With the Gender Equality Index, companies will be able to measure where they stand in terms of professional equality.

In the form of a score out of 100, the index is made up of five main criteria that assess inequalities between women and men in companies.

Every year, companies with at least 50 employees must calculate a gender equality index and publish the score obtained.

• If the Index falls below 85 points, companies must set and publish improvement targets for each indicator.
• If the Index falls below 75 points, companies must publish their corrective and remedial measures.

Failure to publish results in a visible and legible manner, or failure to implement corrective measures, or the ineffectiveness of such measures, may result in a financial penalty of up to 1% of the company's annual payroll.

As a company with over 250 employees, V33 publishes its gender equality index.

The 5 indicators taken into account are :

• Indicator 1 - The elimination of pay gaps between women and men, for comparable jobs and ages.

This is a legal obligation: "equal pay for work of equal value" between women and men. To obtain 40 points, the company must achieve a 0% pay gap between women and men in comparable positions and at comparable ages.

• Indicator 2 - The same chance of getting a raise for both women and men.

The maximum of 20 points is awarded if the company has raised as many men as women, to within 2% or within 2 people.

• Indicator 3 - The same chance of promotion for both men and women.

To counter the "glass ceiling" phenomenon, companies must remove the obstacles to women's career advancement. The maximum of 15 points is awarded if the company has promoted an equal number of women and men, give or take 2% or 2.

• Indicator 4 - All female employees receive a raise when they return from maternity leave, if raises were given in their absence.

Salary catch-up for women returning from maternity leave has been mandatory since 2006 : a mother of 3 children earns 10% less than a woman without children in the same position.

• Indicator 5 - At least 4 women in the top 10 highest earners

The higher up the job ladder, the fewer women there are. The aim is to ensure a more balanced representation of the sexes at all levels of the hierarchy, and particularly in management positions.