POLICY ASSESSMENT FRANCE
Policy Entry 1
Country:
France
Policy Title:
Training and raising awareness of gender bias among national education staff
Policy Type:
National
Year of adoption:
2025
Responsible Authority:
French Ministry of Education
Policy Scope:
National. All teachers: schoolteachers and secondary school mathematics teachers
Key objectives:
Preventing the reproduction of stereotypes in order to have more females in the scientific and technical careers.
Tools will be in place by the start of the 2025-2026 school year will include:
– Raising awareness of gender bias
– Multi-year training plan
– Charter to combat stereotypes
Relation to Green/Deep/STEM:
This plan will enable schools and math teachers to prevent gender bias and stereotyping in the learning of mathematics. The aim is to prevent the emergence, from a very early age, of a difference in attractiveness between girls and boys for the sciences and therefore, later on, STEM professions.
Gender Equality Focus:
Yes, because females are less present in scientific fields.
Inclusion of Gender Targets:
Yes.
Stakeholder Engagement:
No
Data Collection Mechanisms:
It is planned to train 100% of secondary school teachers and mathematics teachers. But the data collection mechanism is not in place yet.
Monitoring Indicators:
Percentage of teachers trained.
Tracking changes in the gender balance in STEM professions
Funding Available:
There will be no funding for third part organisations. It will be managed internally within the Ministry of education.
Impact Description:
Raising awareness of stereotype prevention among teaching staff. The first people to face up to the problem of gender inequality in STEM professions are teachers. They need to be aware of this disparity in order to reduce it as much as possible.
Impact cannot be measured yet.
Link to Source Document:
https://www.education.gouv.fr/plan-filles-et-maths-pour-que-les-jeunes-filles-prennent-toute-leur-place-dans-les-metiers-de-l-450370
Policy Entry 2
Country:
France
Policy Title:
Increasing the number of girls in courses leading to engineering and digital careers
Policy Type:
National
Year of adoption:
2025
Responsible Authorithy:
French Ministry of Education
Policy Scope:
Secondary and high school training
Key objectives:
Increase the number of girls choosing to orient towards scientific studies through:
– The creation of special timetabled classes for maths and science in year 9 and 10 (secondary school) with partners from higher education and research.
Experimentation in 2025-2026 in five education authorities: Amiens, Bordeaux, Martinique, Nancy-Metz and Normandy, with the creation of around ten classes.
Extension of these classes from 2026-2027, with one class per “département”.
At least 50% of the pupils in these classes will be girls. Project-based teaching will help to develop pupils’ interest in science, particularly among girls.
– By 2030, every science preparatory class (after the Baccalaureate) will have to have at least 30% female students, and no less than 20% from the start of the 2026 academic year.
– Introducing a balanced representation of male and female teachers in scientific preparatory classes.
At least 30% women teachers among new appointments in preparatory classes.
Relation to Green/Deep/STEM:
This plan will increase the number of women entering STEM professions
Gender Equality Focus:
Yes, as females are less present in scientific fields.
Inclusion of Gender Targets:
The objective is to have 30,000 more girls in 2030 choosing the math speciality in the first and last years of secondary school.
Stakeholder Engagement:
Yes. France Universités, Conférence des grandes écoles, Conférence des écoles d’ingénieurs (association of Grandes Ecoles preparing engineers).
Data Collection Mechanisms:
Quantify the distribution of the workforce. Data collection procedures are not in place yet.
Monitoring Indicators:
Percentage of girls choosing the maths option in Middle school.
Percentage of girls in the science classes preparing the competition to enter the Grandes Ecoles.
Percentage of female teachers in the classes préparatoires to Grandes Ecoles
Changes in the gender balance in STEM professions will be tracked.
Funding Available:
There will be no funding for third part organisations. It will be managed internally within the Ministry of education.
Impact Description:
Equalize, in the long term, the distribution of male and female in STEM professions. Reaching this objective requires to develop a new approach to science education, starting at secondary school level.
Link to Source Document:
https://www.education.gouv.fr/plan-filles-et-maths-pour-que-les-jeunes-filles-prennent-toute-leur-place-dans-les-metiers-de-l-450370
Policy Entry 3
Country:
France
Policy Title:
Opening up horizons for young girls and inspiring vocations
Policy Type:
National
Year of adoption:
2025
Responsible Authority:
French Ministry of Education
Policy Scope:
Training for middle and high school students
Key objectives:
Presentation during the last four years of secondary schools of women’s careers in scientific and technical professions who can be considered as role models, to inspire vocations.
These presentations will be tested during the school year 2025-2006 before being deployed.
Relation to Green/Deep/STEM:
This plan will increase the number of women entering STEM professions.
Gender Equality Focus:
Yes, in order to reach a better balance of male and female in scientific studies.
Inclusion of Gender Targets:
Yes. 100% of role models will be women.
Stakeholder Engagement:
Yes.; Participation of students, associations, professional branches, Regional authorities..
Data Collection Mechanisms:
They will aim at quantifying the distribution of the workforce. Data collection procedures are not in place yet.
Monitoring Indicators:
Changes in the gender balance in STEM professions will be tracked.
Funding Available:
There will be no funding for third part organisations. It will be managed internally within the Ministry of education.
Impact Description:
Help students understand that women can achieve goals despite current prejudices.
Link to Source Document:
https://www.education.gouv.fr/plan-filles-et-maths-pour-que-les-jeunes-filles-prennent-toute-leur-place-dans-les-metiers-de-l-450370
Policy Entry 4
Country:
France
Policy Title:
GreenTech Innovation
Policy Type:
National
Year of adoption:
2021
Responsible Authority:
Ministry of ecological transition
Policy Scope:
green jobs
Key objectives:
Increasing the number of GreenTech projects generated by women. Today, less than 20% of green tech start-ups are run or co-founded by women. The aim is to reduce this figure.
Ecolab supports private entrepreneurial innovation (greentech companies) and the mobilization of data and artificial intelligence. It coordinates the French greentech ecosystem (2,750 companies by 2023, according to a Bpifrance study) and certifies innovative startups/SMEs with a high ecological impact (“Greentech Innovation”).
Relation to Green/Deep/STEM:
Yes. GreenTech is directly targeted.
Gender Equality Focus:
Yes. In particular, are disseminated testimonial interviews of women who are CEOs of successful start-ups so that they can tell about their career paths, their obstacles, their successes and their vision of their status as women in the entrepreneurial field. Two inspiring interviews are available online to highlight the Greentech Innovation label companies that are run by women.
Inclusion of Gender Targets:
Yes. It is targeted to reach, 30% of projects leaded by women in 2026.
Stakeholder Engagement:
It is organised through:
A Forum for sustainable AI
Annual convention of the national network of GreenTech incubators
Data Collection Mechanisms:
Gender-specific data on incubated project leaders (gender, status, evolution) is collected.
Monitoring Indicators:
Number of women supported,
Number of projects financed.
Survival rate of start-ups run by women.
Funding Available:
Yes
Impact Description:
Promoting the development of sustainable technologies and smoothing out gender inequalities
Link to Source Document:
Policy Entry 5
Country:
France
Policy Title:
Tech pour toutes (Tech for all females)
Policy Type:
National
Year of adoption:
2023
Responsible Authority:
French government (Prime Minister)
Policy Scope:
National
Key objectives:
Support 10,000 young women wishing to start or continue higher education in the digital sector between 2024 and 2026;
– individual support through mentoring,
– collective support,
– material and financial support.
Relation to Green/Deep/STEM:
Yes to all.
Gender Equality Focus:
Parity in the tech and digital professions was a key focus of the “Toutes et tous égaux” gender equality plan, presented by the Prime Minister on March 8, 2023,
Inclusion of Gender Targets:
Yes.
Stakeholder Engagement:
Yes. The program is run by the Inria Foundation in partnership with the players who helped design it:
– Femmes@Numérique,
– France Universités,
– Conférence des directeurs des écoles françaises d’ingénieurs (Managers of engineering Schools)
– La conférence des grandes écoles (association of Grandes Ecoles)
– BECOMTECH (BECOMTECH is a national association promoting gender diversity in IT and the digital world, for girls and women aged 14 to 25. It aims at breaking out of the stereotypes that exclude them from scientific and technical professions, through four programs: JUMP IN TECH, AMBASSADRICES BECOMTECH, BECOMLEADER and TOGETHER IN TECH).
– Latitudes (Latitudes is an association that runs programs to educate 20,000 people, from junior high school to workers, each year about the social and environmental impacts of digital technology)
– JobIRL (This association promotes equal opportunities by supporting young people in their career guidance and professional integration. Approved by the French Ministry of Education, it makes career guidance more concrete, accessible and inspiring by connecting young people aged 12 to 30 with professionals and students. Its jobirl.com social network boasts over 150,000 active members, enabling young people to find a “network” where they can ask questions about careers and training. It also offers distance mentoring, internships and work-study programs.)
– Numeum (It is the professional organization for the digital ecosystem in France. It represents digital service companies, software publishers, platforms and technology consulting and engineering companies. Numeum brings together over 2,500 member companies, which account for 85% of the sector’s total sales.)
Data Collection Mechanisms:
Not known
Monitoring Indicators:
Not known
Funding Available:
There is no funding for third part organisations.
Link to Source Document:
Policy Entry 6
Country:
France
Policy Title:
Pacte Parité de la Mission French Tech
Policy Type:
National
Year of Adoption:
2022
Responsible Authority:
French Tech
Policy Scope:
Increasing the number of women in start ups
Key Objectives:
– Governance: reach a minimum threshold of 20% women on the company board by 2025, – then 40% by 2028.
– Management: train 100% of managers in diversity issues and the fight against discrimination and harassment.
– Recruitment: ensure that 100% of job descriptions published by the company are open to both men and women.
– Representation: set up a team of equal numbers of male and female representatives to speak on behalf of the company, both internally and externally.
– Parenthood: provide specific support for each employee returning from parental leave.
Relation to Green/Deep/STEM:
Among the start-ups many are active in the field of Green of Deep technologies.
Gender Equality Focus:
Yes. It is the objective of the Pact.
Inclusion of Gender Targets:
Yes (cf. objectives)
Stakeholder Engagement:
French start-ups can engage in the Gender Pact
Data Collection Mechanisms:
Monitoring is done through progress reports collecting data among the tech companies adhering to the pact.
Monitoring Indicators:
Two years after:
– 8/10 of companies have trained at least half of their managers
– 74.5% of managers have received training.
– 94% of companies surveyed have taken steps to ensure that their internal and external representation teams have equal representation.
– 100% of companies surveyed have implemented a more inclusive recruitment process.
– 88% of responding companies have launched initiatives to better support employees in their parenthood.
Funding Available:
No
Impact Description:
Cf. Monitoring indicators.
The results achieved so far have encouraged French Tech start-ups to undertake the following complementary steps:
– Implement measurement tools and parity objectives in human resources policies.
– Organize a system of cross-mentoring for female managers by FT120/Next40 executives.
– Organize an annual visit to high schools to introduce high-school girls to the tech professions, and host at least one internship for year 10 each year.
– Create partnerships with schools and retraining institutes specializing in the integration of women.
– Initiate a proactive recruitment process to identify female profiles (to complement incoming applications).
– Introduce and pay for longer “second parent” leave.
– Set up a system of partnerships with private crèches for all employees.
– Offer “children at work” days when employees are invited to bring their children to the office.
Link to Source Document: