The subject has been known for a long time and a whole legislative arsenal now exists to counter it. To date, 20 criteria for discrimination in hiring are set by law (origin, sex, pregnancy, place of residence, disability, sexual orientation, etc.). Thus, disadvantaging a person because of one of them is an offense punishable, for the employer, with a fine of up to 45,000 euros and 3 years in prison. He prevents me. According to an Ifop * study for the MétéoJob observatory, revealed on Thursday, the proportion of employees who have already been victims of discrimination when looking for a job has almost doubled in twenty years, from 12% in 2001 to 21% in 2021. And not surprisingly, these employees are more employees (23%) who face a phenomenon that is added and which has exploded in two decades: sexism.
By focusing exclusively on the job interview, the gender gap is even greater. 20% of women report having already been discriminated against during this exercise, compared to 15% of men. However, this overall figure masks strong differences in exposure even within the fairer sex, depending in particular on their religion (52% of Muslims, against 19% of those without religion), their skin color (42% of racialized people, against 18% of non-racialized) or their degree of validity (35% among women with disabilities, against 18% among able-bodied)
.
And that, without counting the weight of sexism which, in this face-to-face where only skills should play, is much more tested by the candidates of today.
"Have the cases increased or is the tolerance threshold lower?"
"
The sexism suffered during an interview appears, in fact, to be a phenomenon on the rise: 19% of employees have already been subjected to inappropriate comments or derogatory remarks related to their gender, i.e. a proportion that has more than doubled in twenty years. years (7% in 2000).
"Have the cases really increased or has since MeToo, as well as the information campaigns of public authorities and associations, the tolerance threshold is now lower in the face of all these micro-attacks?"
It's hard to say ”, asks François Kraus, director of the“ Gender, sexualities and sexual health ”pole at Ifop.
"However, we believe that, more than an indicator of an increase in cases, these figures show above all that there is a greater awareness of these issues, a better observation of things and only comments, which were not identified. as sexist in the past, are now well, ”he analyzes.
The salaried population will thus be able to better distinguish discriminations when they appear in this ecosystem that is the company.
"What is certain, on the other hand, is that the phenomenon is not slowing down", laments the expert.
"He asked me if I was in a relationship and if I was faithful"
A seamstress in a big fashion house, Lamia knew this. “In this environment, stereotypes are reversed. There are many more women than men… but not in positions of responsibility, ”says the 32-year-old young woman. She has been hired for five years, but she has bitter memories of her interview. "It was a man who passed it on to me and after having praised
the precision of women in these works
, he asked me if I was in a relationship and, supposedly jokingly, if I was faithful" , remembers the 30-something.
How did she react? “I was very uncomfortable. I answered "yes" by asking myself if I was not missing out on this post by answering this.
He will become the father of your future children then?
It was, for him, a roundabout way of asking me if I was planning to start a family. I threw out a pitiful
one, we'll see
. I did not have the courage to tell him
what you ask me there is forbidden
.
I wanted this job and I was in a weak position, ”admits the Parisian.
In terms of privacy, women are much more concerned by these intrusive questions.
"Do you have children?"
Was thus asked, during an interview, of one in two women against one in three men.
“Would it not be linked to the fact that men are more present in decision-making positions…”, argues François Kraus.
This job offer is too poorly made, we agree?
Not to mention the barely visible sexism pic.twitter.com/WSaJD5mA7w
- 🦋 little Butterfly 🦋 (@ Emma_2476) June 3, 2021
As with sexual harassment at work, the study shows that sexist remarks particularly affect homo or bisexual women and those working in male-dominated sectors (eg: construction). In this regard, in 2018, the Fondation des Femmes carried out a test on discrimination in hiring because of gender in so-called masculinized professions. More than 900 dummy CVs, identical apart from the gender of the candidate, were sent over a period of 6 months in response to offers for jobs in the mechanical sector, gardening as well as transport and delivery.
The results speak for themselves: a female candidate for these jobs is 22% less likely than a male candidate to be called for an interview.
This figure even reaches 34.2% for the transport and delivery trades.
A finding confirmed by another test, dating from May 2021, carried out by the Department of Research, Studies and Statistics (DARES).
As in grammar, the masculine definitely wins over the feminine.
During interviews, French women can also be exposed to even more serious forms of sexual and gender-based harassment: 5% report that they have already been told that they could be granted the position on condition of giving in to advances. sexual and 5% have been asked to wear sexier outfits.
* Survey conducted among 4,000 employees, from April 22 to 28, 2021.