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The main lines of the reform of parental leave, the fight against sexism, the situation of single-parent families… the Minister for Women’s Rights answers our questions.
The main lines of the emerging reform concerning parental leave, the fight against sexism … the Minister for Women’s Rights answers our questions …
The reform of parental leave
As the President of the Republic recalled yesterday during our big evening “March 8 is all year round”, it is necessary to better articulate the time of life of women and to ensure that they are no longer penalized upon return from parental leave. We are working on a track that has proved its worth, in Germany in particular, and which consists in granting the father part of this leave. (6 months over a period of up to 3 years). Another essential point: the training of mothers during this retirement from active life, so that they find the path to employment more easily. I have also made it a priority of my ministry.
Support for single mothers in times of crisis
You are right to point out that single-parent families, 80% of which are single women, are the first victims of the crisis. First, the problem of support payments. In fact, these pensions represent nearly a fifth of the income of the poorest single-parent families and too large a part of these pensions is not paid today. Therefore, we must fight against these unpaid bills. The Family Allowance Fund can initiate recourse against debtors, but I think we have to go further. I am in favor of strengthening the means of execution given to CAFs with regard to the debtor as well as an improvement in international cooperation, in order to ensure that a parent abroad continues to fulfill their obligations. obligations. In addition, I support the revaluation of 25% of the Family Support Allowance, paid to single parents who do not receive a pension.
The work-life balance for women
I won’t hide from you that juggling the life of minister and mother is not easy every day. The moments spent with my children are precious, I enjoy it all the more. I work a lot on the articulation of mothers’ lives, an issue inseparable from the reform of parental leave that we have just mentioned.
The battles of feminism from yesterday to today
Many fights have been waged for women’s rights. After the war, women fought for the same rights as men: it was obtaining the right to vote, the right to open an account without the spouse’s authorization or to exercise full parental authority. … This is what I call the first generation of women’s rights. Then, the second generation of women’s rights granted them specific rights linked to their status as women: free disposal of the body, protection against harassment, gender violence… These rights have been enshrined in law. Despite everything, we note that inequalities persist. Therefore, today we are working for a 3rd generation of women’s rights, the one that should lead us towards a society of real equality.
In addition, I want to fight sexism from kindergarten, not to question the biological differences between a boy and a girl but to work on the deconstruction of the stereotypes that we find from an early age and that have an impact. sustainable thereafter. This is why I decided to set up a program called “ABCD de equality”, which is aimed at all pupils from the large section of kindergarten to CM2 and their teachers and which aims to deconstruct received ideas on the presumed qualities of little girls and boys, on the trades available to them etc. Currently being developed, this educational tool will be tested at the start of the 2013 school year in five academies and will be the subject of an evaluation protocol to then be generalized in all schools.