Recruitment and workplace integration of men and women engineers in France: the case of EPF Ecole d’Ingénieurs graduates

Abstract

Based on ‘First Job’ surveys conducted six months after graduation among graduates from 2000 to 2007 and semi-structured interviews, this paper examines the recruitment and workplace integration of women and men graduates from EPF Ecole d’Ingenieurs. The study’s findings show that women engineering graduates from EPF generally have more favourable recruitment and workplace integration experiences than men from the same school, in terms of job search time, unemployment, access to managerial posts and obtaining permanent employment contracts. However, female graduates from this school still face discrimination linked to access to positions of responsibility, or to stereotypes associated with work–family balance.