So, I’m going to talk about Europe,
and I will ask you not to sleep,
because when we talk about Europe,
we find that it is forbidding.
If you write books about Europe,
unlike my girlfriends just now,
you will not find a publisher.
Yesterday, in a TV show,
candidates, who are destined to become President of the Republic,
had to talk about Europe, bickered and did not talk about it.
I will tell you about it because I have a story to tell you
and she is not bad.
So it’s true that Europe, when we take it like that right now,
we say that the news is not very good,
the English…
I said the English, not the British.
The English want to leave us.
Hungarians, who dream of a big Hungary,
have put fences,
we thought it had disappeared after the fall of the wall,
to protect themselves from the migratory invasion.
We have the Walloons.
Walloons who had an urticaria crisis before the hour
the thought of eating Canadian moose steak.
To finally realize that it is not so indigestible as that.
And then we have Poland with a retrograde government
who wants to question a number of laws,
including that on abortion.
Well there, patatras, women, all Polish women,
went down the street
and the government backed down, the bill was dropped.
Because my story is precisely when we talk about women in Europe,
the news is much better.
Because in Europe, thanks to the opprobrium,
the place of women in this continent
is the best in the world.
I will tell you why.
First, in Europe,
this is where there are the most women leaders.
Among the countries I have just mentioned, the United Kingdom and Poland,
these are two examples of countries headed by women, Theresa May, Beata Szydlo.
But there’s a third one you know a lot better,
because she’s been in power for a long time, twelve years,
that she regularly makes one of the magazines, the newspapers,
rankings, not necessarily European,
there are American newspapers who think it’s the woman
the most powerful in the world.
What’s her name ?
Public: Angela Merkel. Pascale Joannin: Yes!
Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor.
Three.
You’re going to tell me, it’s not a lot, three.
But we must also know that there are four presidents of the Republic
in European countries.
In Lithuania,
in Estonia for a month, a young woman, 46 years old.
Is not it, Samira?
In Croatia and Malta.
With Norway, which is not in the European Union,
but on our continent,
we arrive at eight.
You tell me, what does it tell as history, eight women …
But precisely, these eight European women,
Heads of State or Government,
they represent as many women
there are women presidents and heads of government
elsewhere in the world.
There are eight too,
but they are spread a little in Africa, Chile, Korea,
and maybe there will be a ninth Tuesday,
but we are still at eight.
There are as many women heads of state and government in Europe
than in the rest of the world.
It’s not bad.
Take the European institutions,
it is true there is no president.
There were some in Parliament,
two,
two French women.
Simone Veil, 1979,
and Nicole Fontaine,
since, only men.
In Council, it’s a bit new,
there were two incumbents, two men,
since there is a rule that says the incumbent
must be head of government.
We’ll wait a bit.
At the ECB, there is a woman on the Board of Governors,
it’s not bad.
But at the European Commission,
there are 9 women out of the 28 commissioners.
New.
It’s already the third.
This is not bad.
And then we gave them some very important positions,
the budget,
Foreign Affairs.
But there are still two women more important than that,
because they deal with skills that are really European.
You know them.
There is a big woman like me, Danish,
Mrs. Margrethe Vestager.
What is Mrs. Vestager doing? She deals with the competition.
That is to say, she looks
what all companies do to comply with European law,
not that European companies,
all.
And if I tell you three names, you’ll say, “Oh yes, it’s her. “
Microsoft, Google, Apple.
It is she who regulates all that so that they adapt to European law.
There is a second,
I made you laugh with my Canadian moose story,
he is the person in charge of trade, a function dedicated to Europe.
The Commissioner is Swedish
and deals with all the free trade agreements of the Union
who, I remind you,
is the world’s leading commercial and economic power,
because when we reach the 28 GDP of the 28 Member States,
the GDP of the 28 is higher than that of the United States.
Here.
Europe, that’s it.
That’s not a…
So, these two women,
they have a particularity,
they come from northern Europe.
Because my second point is that in Europe,
there is a model that has gradually emerged,
it’s Northern Europe,
because in these countries,
there is a natural tendency to spread equitably
power between men and women.
Sweden is a very special example,
because Sweden is both
the country where there are the most women parliamentarians, 45%,
and it is also the one where the government is strictly parity, 50-50.
And there, little surprise, a second country comes just behind,
you know him, he’s close to us geographically, it’s …
France.
In the current government,
there are 50% women and 50% men.
I only found this example
to characterize equality between men and women in France,
because after, it spoils a little.
This is not a natural trend, we had to impose a law,
the law on parity,
which makes today, to be admissible,
a list must include as many women as men,
alternately,
not the first 13, men, and the last 13, women,
one in two.
So that a number of women
have been able to invest in municipal councils,
in the county councils,
in the regional councils.
In the Assembly, the ballot is uninominal,
it’s not exactly the same thing, we only have 26% of parliamentarians.
In the Senate, there are more women than men,
since there is a proportional system
which means that there are more women senators than MPs.
Then, when we look at how things are
in the executive of these regions, departments, town halls,
we see that there are many women in departmental councils,
you have elected tickets a man-a woman,
it was obligatory.
So, there are 50% of elected,
but presidents, there are only ten,
because it’s still difficult to access power.
So they are in the councils, but not in the executive.
And then, if they are in the executive,
it was said at the moment,
we are more likely to entrust them
so-called feminine sectors.
Education,
early childhood,
old people,
social assistance.
Rarely roads, urbanism, finances.
But it changes.
Look, we had a woman finance minister,
Christine Lagarde.
We had ministers of the interior, foreign affairs,
and even today, in Europe,
five women defense ministers.
Defense, it is a stronghold still male.
So, in Europe, thanks to Europe,
and thanks to Northern Europe,
the other countries have gradually made their feminization of parliament,
and many parliamentarians,
and it’s in Europe today,
if you look at a map of the world,
that there are more women parliamentarians.
So it’s a third, it’s not yet parity,
but we are in front of the United States,
we are in front of other developed countries,
we are in front of Asia, which is not very advanced,
and Africa where it progresses a lot.
You’re going to tell me politics, it’s a particular area,
it takes time, to invest,
it is not easy.
I’m going back to the business world, because in Europe,
it is also where there is the greatest number of women
in corporate governance.
Again, the model comes from Northern Europe,
Norway, in this case.
Norway passed a law in 2004 to make sure
that women can join boards of directors
listed companies.
44% today.
So there was a little emulation with, among others, France, Italy,
and others did the same thing.
In France, it is a law that imposes
to have 40% of women, and we said it earlier,
it will be effective from next year.
So, we’re second
with the Swedes who, once again, did not need any law,
it was natural,
there are 36% of women on Swedish boards, as in France.
But as long as we look at the world,
in the top ten countries
where there are the most administrators,
there are seven out of ten Europeans.
Seven.
This is not bad.
After, there is Australia, Canada and Israel.
Of course, these boards,
for now, symbolically,
it concerns listed companies.
So in France, the CAC 40.
We will have to continue
for these women to be represented in other structures.
Then, this parity, which was forced a little with the law,
is established in other, smaller companies,
those not listed in the CAC 40,
but in other markets,
even in mid-size companies, or SMEs.
And above all,
because this promotion of women is not done magically,
it will be necessary that indeed, this diversity, this mixity,
establishes itself in the internal instances of corporate governance,
the executive committee, where there are many decisions that are taken,
we will have to impose almost the same rule,
or the audit, management, compensation,
so that we can spot female talent very early,
promote them and make it easier for them to access power
so that they avoid having the glass ceiling a little too quickly.
There is something also in Europe that is interesting,
it’s the social model, the social market economy,
the European model,
and the word that is important is the word “social”,
because to allow women to work,
it is also necessary to encourage them to work.
There are two examples that immediately come to mind.
There is maternity leave,
everyone knows what it is.
In Europe, it is rather favorable.
So, like that, there are variants,
but Europe has made sure
that all countries have pretty much the same thing.
There is one particularity that I would like to point out,
who still comes from Sweden,
it’s the fact that in this country,
the leave must be taken by both the father and the mother.
That’s not all for the mother, and if the father does not take it,
it’s three months,
well, it’s lost,
it can not be transferred to his wife.
So, it’s not bad.
Secondly, child care, because when you have children,
if we do not have custody, if we do not have family, means, etc,
it is difficult to return to work after maternity leave.
So there are child care systems.
Here again, Europe has tried to ensure that
all countries set up systems.
It’s coming slowly, but it’s progressing.
Here too, France has a positive aspect,
since the birth rate in France
is one of the best in Europe with Ireland, two children,
because there are guard systems
that allow young women
to be able to have children and to work.
And that’s very significant, because often, as Robin said,
women become pregnant, will they be used?
Maternity must not be an obstacle to hiring.
(Applause)
So you see, when we look at politics …
No, I’m not finished!
I conclude.
When we look at politics,
the economic field, the social field,
we see that finally in Europe, and thanks to Europe,
the situation of women is rather better than elsewhere.
She is so much better than elsewhere,
that many other women are watching what is going on in Europe,
and envy a little this European position,
because they say, but if they got there,
them, on this old continent,
would we not be able to do it?
Is this European example indeed
can be taken up in other parts of the world?
We see it in Africa, Aude, you are often there,
there is a feminization of the parliament which is more and more important,
and we see countries that post
rates almost equal to those of Europe.
I will tell you a little story.
Me, I receive from the foundation many trainees, students
coming mainly from European countries.
I happen to receive Russians, Americans.
And one day, I had a South Korean,
and in his internship report,
there was this sentence that no one had put so far.
She said, “I discovered Europe, I would like to come back to work there,
because the place of the woman is much better than in my country. “
We are talking about South Korea,
the seventh world economy,
the one that makes some people tremble …
Western powers.
Indeed, in Korea, the situation of women is much less.
So, this European mix,
is it heaven on earth?
I do not know,
but I tell myself that if Europe is not doing very well right now,
the world either,
there are wars, there are crises, there are tensions.
I do not believe that men alone
can meet all the challenges that are needed.
Humanity is composed of men and women,
and this European mix is not a mix of confrontation,
it is a mix where we must try to share power.
Because maybe if we get together, men and women,
to meet the challenges,
it will be much better
than what is happening now.
And so, I make a completely iconoclastic proposal.
Would not the affairs of the world work better
if indeed, there were more women in power?
And I just realized
that finally it was not a proposal so iconoclastic as that,
because a magazine, this week, title “They move the world. “
Thank you !
(Applause)
”
Be First to Comment