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Gender and Family in European Economic Policy pp 179–197Cite as

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The French Parity Law: A Successful Gender Equality Measure or a “Conservative Revolution”?

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Abstract

A large number of countries in the world have implemented policies designed to advance the political representation of women. Sixteen years after the “parity law” was passed in France, the present article evaluates its mixed effects on the process of political professionalisation and on gender relations. Based on several surveys conducted between 2001 and 2016 at different institutional levels, the article traces the genesis of the law and outlines certain French paradoxes concerning gender and political issues. It then provides a quantitative review of the impact of the law in the political field and concludes by showing that dominant professional politicians use gender-equality measures in a way that allows them to preserve masculine power and in-group sociability and to reproduce a conservative gender order.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. IRISSO (Institute for Interdisciplinary Research in Social Sciences), Paris-Dauphine PSL Research University, Paris, France

    Catherine Achin

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  1. Catherine Achin
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Correspondence to Catherine Achin .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Applied Sciences, Bielefeld, Germany

    Diana Auth

  2. University of Giessen, Giessen, Germany

    Jutta Hergenhan

  3. University of Giessen, Giessen, Germany

    Barbara Holland-Cunz

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Achin, C. (2017). The French Parity Law: A Successful Gender Equality Measure or a “Conservative Revolution”?. In: Auth, D., Hergenhan, J., Holland-Cunz, B. (eds) Gender and Family in European Economic Policy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-41513-0_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-41513-0_9

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-41512-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-41513-0

  • eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)

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