Initiative

Charter on equality between women and men

Summary of the initiative

CGT (“Confederation Generale du Travail” in English: “The General Confederation of Labour”) is a trade union confederation in France. The union represent roughly 700,000 workers, of which 37% are women. CGT is at the forefront to combat every form of discrimination and strives for a working culture that promotes equality between women and men.

A Committee called “Femmes-mixité” has been in place for many years and it gather together trade union representatives of different sectors and regional unions affiliated to the CGT. The Committee has promoted several actions and it is active in promoting all priorities of the framework of actions on gender quality adopted by the EU social partners. The union also strives to integrate the gender dimension into all its political and bargaining activities.

A Charter on equality between men and women (“Charte égalité femmes/hommes“ ) was adopted in 2007 with the aim to review the working methods of the confederation and its members in order to take better into account women’s members needs and facilitate women in union leadership positions. A specific section of the Charter deals with collective bargaining, a key element, to advance gender equality at the company level. Recommendations are given to improve gender parity of bargaining units as well as to include equality issues in all negotiating agenda (wages, working time, reconciliation, work organisation, career progression, training, mobility, health and safety, pensions, etc.).

The confederation released several publications on this matter. Worth to mention in particular the brochure ‘Why professional equality concerns both men and women’ containing useful information, recommendations and concrete case examples of successful agreements integrating the gender dimension. There is also a section on equal pay.

The CGT has taken part in the discussions that led to the adoption of a new legislation in France on gender equality. The new legislative framework introduced in 2013 addresses gender quality on several fronts, including, among others, stereotyping in the media, domestic violence against women, parental rights and obligations, and women’s representation in businesses. Following the adoption of the law the CGT issued ten recommendations to ensure full application of the new legal text.