Sexism still has a bright future ahead of it in France, according to the HCE

For the second consecutive year, the High Council for Equality publishes its annual barometer on sexism, conducted by the Viavoice Institute on a representative sample of the French population made up of 2,500 women and men. And to believe her findings, it would appear that sexism still has a bright future ahead of it in France.

The French deplore sexism… but adhere to the stereotypes it conveys

Once again this year the barometer sheds light on a paradox that makes us sigh aloud: 93%, i.e. the vast majority of French men and women, believe that women and men are treated differently in at least one of the spheres of society (work, public space, school, family, etc.), which does not prevent large part of the population adheres to sexist stereotypes. For example, just 49% of women and 37% of men find it difficult for a woman to cook every day for the whole family. 40% of men and 27% of women also state that it is normal for a woman to stop working to take care of their children (figure up by 6 points compared to the barometer published last year). From the side of the couple and the relationship of seduction, 38% of women and 52% of men find it normal for a man to foot the bill on the first date. An anthology of ordinary sexism, then.

The young generation of men, washed down with masculinism

But the most disturbing thing is that despite the emergence of #MeToo and the subsequent stance on the issues of sexism and gender-based violence, the younger generation does not seem inclined to break down sexist prejudices. Indeed, the barometer reveals that masculinist clichés, widely spread thanks to social networks, are the most anchored among men under 35, a particularly worrying reality. For example, 20% of 25-34 year olds believe that to be respected as a man in society, you need to brag about your sexual exploits to your friends. 32% of them also believe that barbecue is a man’s business, or almost 10 points more than the general male average (which stands at 23%).

Birth and affirmation of a “macho and anti-feminist sphere”

Finally, the report highlights a respondents’ distrust of public authorities and the ineffectiveness of the tools put in place, in particular to combat sexism and against phenomena of greatness that are emerging: increase in violence on social networks, barbarism in many productions of the porn industry, birth and affirmation of a “macho and anti-feminist sphere”… Not to mention a major setback regarding women’s rights around the world, with especially the questioning of the repeal of abortion rights in the US or even the situation of women in Afghanistan or in Iran. A real “backlash”, which will have been the sign of the year 2022.

10 recommendations for an emergency plan to fight sexism

Faced with these alarming results, the High Council for Equality insists: we must fight against sexism in society as a whole. For this, the institution suggests the implementation of ten recommendations for a contingency plan to combat sexism.

• Increase financial and human resources to train more and more general judges and magistrates within the competent courts to deal with domestic violence, on the Spanish model
• Establish a result obligation for the implementation of the law on education for sexuality and emotional life within three years
• Regulate digital content to combat stereotyping, degrading representations and unfair or violent treatment of women, especially online pornographic content
• Make anti-sexism training mandatory for employers
• Generalize parity conditionality (which conditions public money to an equal counterpart) and gender-sensitive budgeting
• Create an independent High Authority to combat gender-based violence in politics
• Make public support for the print media conditional on a commitment to equality
• Make mandatory an evaluation system and an annual publication on the proportion of women’s representation in school textbooks, conditioning their marketing, on the Belgian model
• Ban on advertising gender toys on the Spanish model
• Institutionalize National Anti-Sexism Day on January 25

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