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Wage equality in 2025 : How is France faring ?

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Update on : March 8, 2025

Despite the various policies and regulations in place to address wage inequality, the gender pay gap remains a significant issue in France in 2025. While progress is being made, it’s happening far too slowly, with systemic factors still playing a major role in perpetuating these disparities.

Persistent Wage Gaps Despite Regulatory Efforts

In 2022, data from INSEE (the French National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies) revealed that the gender pay gap was still a staggering 23.5% on average. While the gap narrowed to 14.9% when comparing workers with similar working hours and to just 4% when comparing equivalent roles, the reality of wage inequality remained pronounced.

The 2025 report by consulting firm PEOPLE BASE CBM reflects similar trends. The gross wage gap stands at 19.6%, dropping to 14.4% after statistical adjustments. When it comes to equivalent positions and responsibilities, the residual pay gap remains at 3.2%. What’s more concerning is that the pay disparity only worsens higher up the corporate ladder. Women remain significantly underrepresented in high-paying roles and executive positions, highlighting a broader issue of gender representation in leadership roles.

Root Causes of the Pay Gap

The gender pay gap isn’t simply the result of direct discrimination, but rather a combination of systemic factors that work together to create unequal outcomes:

Part-time work: 26.5% of women work part-time, compared to just 8.4% of men. This disproportionately affects women’s earning potential, as part-time roles often come with lower wages and fewer opportunities for advancement.
Occupational segregation: Women are concentrated in sectors with lower pay scales, such as education, retail, and personal services, while men dominate higher-paying industries like technology and finance.
The glass ceiling: Men are twice as likely to access the top 3% of the highest-paying jobs and 2.5 times more likely to occupy the top 0.1% of roles. This phenomenon points to a lack of advancement opportunities for women, particularly in senior management positions.
Maternity impact: Women’s career progression tends to slow down significantly after having children, while men’s careers remain largely unaffected. This issue, often referred to as the “motherhood penalty,” is a persistent barrier to achieving wage parity.

A New European Directive to Enhance Pay Transparency

In response to these inequalities, the European Union introduced Directive 2023/970 on May 10, 2023, which imposes several new requirements on businesses to improve pay transparency and address gender-based wage gaps. Key measures in the directive include:

Salary transparency : Companies must publish salary ranges in their job postings, ensuring that potential hires are fully aware of the compensation they can expect.
Annual wage gap reports : Organizations with more than 250 employees will be required to submit detailed reports outlining their pay disparities.
Mandatory pay audits : Companies with significant pay gaps will undergo salary audits to identify and rectify discrepancies.
Strengthened worker rights: Employees will have the right to access salary information, and in case of disputes, the burden of proof will shift to employers.

Recommendations for Effective Compliance

To help companies comply with these new regulations and foster long-term pay equity, PEOPLE BASE CBM recommends the following actions:

Conduct a pay audit: Businesses should assess their current wage structures to identify any disparities and understand their root causes.
Establish objective salary criteria: Defining clear, measurable salary benchmarks and implementing a transparent salary grid will ensure fairness in pay distribution.
Train managers and HR professionals: Educating leadership on the importance of pay equality and proper career management practices will help eliminate unconscious biases in pay decisions.
Implement regular monitoring: Ongoing evaluations of internal policies and procedures will ensure that they remain effective and adapt to changing circumstances.
Encourage women’s access to leadership roles: Promoting women into executive positions through mentoring programs and internal promotion policies will help reduce gender imbalances in top management.

A Strategic Imperative for Businesses

Wage equality is not just a legal obligation; it’s a strategic advantage. Transparent pay policies contribute to higher employee engagement, attract top talent, and improve a company’s public image. Businesses committed to achieving pay equity position themselves as leaders in both their industries and in societal transformation.

Equity in pay cannot be achieved overnight—it requires tangible, measurable actions. As France continues to grapple with the gender pay gap in 2025, the question isn’t whether progress will happen, but how quickly the momentum can build to create lasting change. By adopting these strategies, companies will not only comply with new regulations but also contribute to a more equal and prosperous future for all workers.