A massive phenomenon. For eight out of ten women (80%), professional inequalities remain very important today, according to a barometer on sexism at work carried out by the French Association of Diversity Managers presented this Tuesday, May 6.
The 2025 edition of this barometer confirms the persistence of gender inequalities and sexist behaviors in the world of work in France. According to the results, 67% of women say they have already faced each other personally with a discriminatory or sexist situation within their business.
Three out of four women consider that women regularly face sexist attitudes or decisions in the world of work. A figure that rises to 86% among children under 35.
The feeling of inequality also refers to the salary: more than one in two women say they are less paid than their male colleagues for work of equal value. Maternity is also an inequality vector, since for 73% of respondents, being a mother is a brake for the race.
Work more to compensate sexism
According to the barometer, two thirds of women questioned (66%) also have the feeling of having to do more to be recognized in their work. A reality that escapes men, since less than one in two shares this feeling.
Business sexism also seems to express themselves through humor: more than seven out of ten women say they have already heard that women are subject to “jokes about women” at work.
Almost 40% of respondents say they have already been arrested by a man by a sexist nickname (“My great”, “Miss”…). A sign of lack of education and awareness on the subject: one in two men thinks that these expressions are benevolent, even flattering.
Faced with a sexist professional climate, the interviewed women ensure that they have an resource to avoid strategies, such as not wearing some clothes (31%), avoid being alone with certain people (25%) or not speaking in public (18%).
Men who feel discriminated against
To fight these inequalities, 43% of the employees questioned see the systematic sanction as a means of priority action to be implemented. They are only 46% to consider that companies are sufficiently involved to reduce these inequalities.
The barometer also highlights the resistances present in men: 40% of them think they are discriminated due to the promotion of gender equality. Another surprising figure: almost one in two men considers that the exchange of domestic tasks and parents has no impact on professional equality between men and women.
The barometer was carried out in collaboration with Ipsos, with a sample of 1,000 representative employees of companies with more than 250 employees in France, interviewed on the Internet in January 2025.
Source: BFM TV
