Fifty Years of Feminising France's Fifth Republic

Abstract

For 50 years, women have been battling against the hostile institutions of the Fifth Republic. Despite barriers such as a majoritarian electoral system and presidentialisation, women have been making incremental gains in the political arena. The breakthrough came in the 1970s when politicians began to appreciate the benefits of appealing directly to women voters with policies such as the legalisation of abortion. The Socialist governments of the 1980s saw the introduction of the first women's ministry and the first parliamentary discussions of positive discrimination for women. However, 20 years later women still remain under-represented at the elite level, as well as continuing to carry a disproportionate share of caring and domestic duties. Despite the gendering of citizenship in the form of the parity law, and the flagship presidential campaign of Ségolène Royal, France still retains at heart a universalist tradition built on masculine norms that continues to disadvantage its citoyennes.