Gender wage gap in France
France: Gender wage gap was 11.6% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Gender wage gap in France, 1972–2020
Source: International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2020, gender wage gap in France stood at 11.6%.
That represents a change of down 8.6% on the previous year and up 2.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, gender wage gap in France peaked at 22.0% in 1974 and was at its lowest, 8.9%, in 2007.
France ranks 22nd of 67 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 29 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 21.4% | 20.8% | 22.0% | 8 |
| 1980s | 19.0% | 17.8% | 20.8% | 5 |
| 2000s | 10.8% | 8.9% | 11.9% | 5 |
| 2010s | 11.3% | 10.1% | 12.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 11.6% | 11.6% | 11.6% | 1 |
Countries ranked near France
More work & labour data for France
- Legislation on sexual harassment in employment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Criminal sanctions or compensation for workplace sexual harassment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Women can take the same jobs as men 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) 55.3% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) 59.5% (2025)
- Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) 86.4% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 51.5% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15-6 74.0% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) 76.9% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 71.1% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is gender wage gap in France?
- Gender wage gap in France was 11.6% in 2020, according to International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest gender wage gap recorded in France?
- The highest recorded value was 22.0% in 1974.
- What is the lowest gender wage gap recorded in France?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.9% in 2007.
- How does France rank for gender wage gap?
- France ranks 22nd out of 67 countries with data for 2020.
- Is gender wage gap rising or falling in France?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this France data come from?
- The figures come from International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Gender wage gap. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 29 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Difference between average earnings of men and average earnings of women expressed as a percentage of average earnings of men.